Politics
Atiku/Obi ticket: Yoruba youths place tough demands as condition for support
By OBINNA EZUGWU
Having lost the position of vice presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for the upcoming 2019 presidential election to Mr. Peter Obi and the South East geopolitical zone, youths of South West zone under the aegis of Yoruba Council of Youths Worldwide (YCYW), has demanded that the positions of Chief of Chief of Staff (CoS) Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) National Security Adviser (NSA) Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Minister of Finance, Minister of Petroluem, Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Youth Development be ceded to the zone as a condition for their support for the opposition party’s bid for power in 2019.
The YCYW which made the demand in a statement signed by its president, Aremo Oladotun Hassan on Wednesday, said the positions would adequately compensate the South West the for the loss of the opposition party’s vice presidential slot to the South East and serve as incentive for the zone to abandon the current vice president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo.
The group congratulated the presidential candidate of the party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Mr. Obi on their emergence, while pledging to use their votes to sack the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari administration, which it said, has failed once they are guaranteed of their demands.
“The leadership of the Yoruba Council of Youths Worldwide(YCYW) heartily felicitates with all Nigerians especially the good people of South East for the recent nomination of Mr. Peter Obi as the Vice Presidential nominee to His Excellency, Waziri Atiku Abubakar, GCON, the People’s Democratic Party presidential candidate at the forthcoming general elections,” the statement read.
Aremo Oladotun Hassan
“However, in furtherance to our former demand for the post of the Vice President which has been zoned and determined based on necessity and the negotiating strenghts of the Eastern bloc, and in the face of the compelling need to feature competent and vibrant minds that will deliver dividends of democracy to the dying and frustrated Nigerians, as well as surpass the inefficient and docile incumbent President Muhammodu Buhari APC led federal government, we believe in equitable, just and fair distribution of strategic positions along this the same line of thought.
” We are further compelled to demand for a fair share of positions comensurate to our goodwill and contributed efforts as a region.
“We ask that the post of the Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF) be ceded to the Southwest, in addition to the Chief of Staff, National Security Adviser, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Minister of Finance, Minister of Petroluem, Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Youth Development. We also crave for other board appointments beneficial to all Nigerians.”
The group said it arrived at the position after due consultations and called on the presidential candidate, Atiku to give due consideration to the demands.
“We carefully arrived at this after due deliberations and in view of our undeterred committements to the peaceful cohexistence, unity and progress of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“We hope this will galvernize our people’s support and our target is to deliver over 10 million votes to the PDP.
“We hope the PDP as a party and Waziri Atiku Abubakar considers this open window of opportunity with an aggregated signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with representatives of the Southwest, ranging from our elders, sociocultural groups, youths, artisans, professionals, and the Diaspora, and that will be done in the open in the eyes of the world with full press coverage, preferably at our forthcoming Southwest Youth Summit, slated for November, 2018 in Ogun State.
“For we feel the urgent need to convince our people on the need to jettison their own, Professor Yemi Oshibajo, the current vice president, but that has to be with the assurance of better alternative, for our people say that ‘a bird at hand is worth two in the bush’.”
The group said once the conditions are guaranteed, PDP will record landslide victory in the South West.
“With these demands met, the PDP will achieve a landslide victory in the South West.”
They nonetheless, restated the zone’s commitment to restructuring and called on the former vice president to see to the restructuring of the country once in power.
“Restructuring agenda must be faced head on with the setting up of A National Restructuring Commission with an Executive Bill.
“He must be able to summon a greater patriotic will towards building and reviving our dying nation from economic stagnation and social insecurity.
“He must be able to implement the 26% UN Budgetary standard allocation to the Education sector with a view to postulating and establishing a statutory priciples of law by enacting the Education Right Bill into law.
“He needs to quickly review the land use Act laws into Land Licencing and Allotment Law via Executive Bill, wherein all lands right must revert back to the land owners and communities, while government only regulates its operations and management, and Certificate of Occupancy and Consent should be replaced with Land Certificate of Ownership Licence.
“Also, the government must be ready to equip the youths by granting 40% youth affirmative action plan on appointment and involving the Nigerian youths in his government.
“A roburst vocational training program in information technology, Agriculture and other ancillary trainings, which will place Nigeria as at par with first world nations.
”Security architecture needs a total overhaul to ensure absolute neutrality in the discharge of statutory duties.
“More emphasis should be placed on rebuiding peace and patriotism. This are basic idea that could galvanise supports for Waziri Atiku Abubakar come 2019.”
