Since the #NotTooYoungToRun bill was transmitted to the 36 states House of Assemblies along with other constitutional amendment bills, at least 21 states have passed the bill. This was made known in a detailed statement made available to mapnews24.com.
According to the statement, in December 2017, the National Assembly transmitted 15 constitutional amendment bills to the states for passage. The Ondo state House of Assembly became the first state assembly to pass the Not Too Young to Run (age reduction) bill as part of the constitutional amendment, followed closely by the Adamawa, Kwara, Benue and Nasarawa State Houses of Assembly who also passed the Not Too Young To Run bill. Borno, Delta, Enugu, Ekiti, Katsina, Yobe and Gombe state assemblies also passed bill in December 2017.
The Not Too Young To Run movement is a movement of youth and civil society groups advocating for the reduction of age for running for elective offices to mainstream young men and women in electoral politics. Not Too Young To Run is Nigeria’s largest and most successful youth movement in recent times. The movement is driven by the compelling need to restructure the country’s political system to address the deeply entrenched system of political exclusion and institute inclusive politics, transformative leadership and electoral competitiveness in the electoral process.
The statement further mentioned that in January 2018, the Kogi and Kebbi state Houses of Assembly passed the age reduction bill (Not Too Young To Run) while in February 2018, the Bauchi, Jigawa, Ebonyi, Kaduna, Ogun, Niger and Abia state Houses of Assembly passed the bill.
Accordingly, these states listed above have been inaugurated into the Not Too Young To Run Hall of Fame for voting in line with aspirations of the Nigerian people.
“By this singular act, the 21 youth friendly states have made history and written their names in gold. The passage of Not Too Young To Run is a demonstration of their commitment to the tenets of representative democracy. We commend them for fulfilling their promise to their constituents and the Nigerian youth. Nigerian youth will always remember them for showing leadership in promoting youth inclusion in democratic politics in Nigeria. Posterity will be fair to them,” the statement adds.
“The movement would like to register its disappointment with the Taraba State House of Assembly for voting against the age reduction bill. On the 20th December 2017, 11 members of the House voted against the bill making it impossible for the house to pass the bill. It is unfortunate that majority of State Assembly members voted against the will of the people of Taraba despite assurances of its passage by the entire house. We appreciate the 6 members of the House of Assembly who voted for the bill. Thank you for standing in defense of the constitutional right of young people to participate in politics by contesting for elective office. Posterity also will be fair to you.
The movement commends the House of Representatives for passing an amendment to Section 85 of the Electoral Act 2010 because political parties are now compelled to ensure the position of youth leaders must be occupied by persons between the age of 18 and 35 years. This amendment is in tandem with the philosophy of Not Too Young To Run.
However, the movement wants the National Assembly to expedite action on concluding all electoral and constitutional amendments as the 2019 elections are in about 365 days.
Since a constitutional amendment requires approval by at least 24 state Houses of Assembly. The Movement calls on all states house of assemblies who are yet to pass the bill to emulate their colleagues by voting YES for the bill. This is important for those who care about the future of Youths and indeed the next generation.
2019 general elections will soon be here and “the imperative for youth inclusion especially as candidates for all elective positions is not a matter for debate but a constitutional imperative, concludes the statement.
The movement in a three-point numbered list, emphasized the important roles youths will play during the 2019 elections.
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