Advocate for youth participation in governance, Comrade Aliyu AK Balarabe, has urged the National Assembly to swiftly amend the constitution and transfer the conduct of Local Government elections from State Electoral Commissions to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He believes that the changes are necessary because state governors have been nothing but selfish with their biased appointments in recent years. He called out the governors for merely selecting their faithful servants to represent them at the grassroots level, thereby denying Nigerian youths the right to choose efficient leaders who will have their interests at heart.
According to him, the self–centred practice, if allowed to continue, will only keep discouraging qualified young Nigerians from participating in politics, since they will not be wrong to conclude that the outcomes of these elections are decided before they even hold.
Aliyu maintains that for the country to attain commendable heights with democracy and youth inclusion, the foundation must be rectified, and it is common knowledge that the foundation of politics is none other than the Local Government.
Emphasising how LG being the closest government to the people means appointments cannot be jeopardised, Aliyu warned that energetic, innovative and futuristic youths should not be denied entry by those who have continuously turned local elections into their own little political playground, for them to keep doing as they please.
The concerned Nigerian is of the opinion that the Local Government elections should be what young leaders use to gain experience, transform their communities, and grow politically. He stated that anyone who is trying to hinder the smooth process of polls at the grassroots level is nothing but a stopper of national progress.
He then appealed to the National Assembly to heed the cry of several Nigerians, to put a stop to the political madness, and give INEC full control over Local Government elections, to guarantee free, fair, and credible elections that should reflect the true will of the people.
Aliyu rounded up by saying now is the time for power to return to the people at the grassroots, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has the crucial opportunity to create a kind of history that will never be forgotten by the frustrated–but–hopeful youths scattered across the nation.
