Solomon Dalung, a former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, has disclosed that the #NotTooYoungToRun bill passed into law during the Buhari-led administration was a deliberate blackmail of the youths by the older generation.
Dalung made this known while speaking during the weekend at the virtual lecture organised by Crisp Nigeria (CrispNG), a youth-driven online media platform.
Recall that Dalung was Minister of Youth when Buhari assented to the #NotTooYoungToRun bill in 2018.
The law reduces the age qualification for president from 35 to 30, governorship from 35 to 30, Senator from 35 to 30, House of Representatives membership from 30 to 25, and state House of Assembly membership from 30 to 25.
However, Dalung said assenting to the bill was “the worst day” of his life, stressing that it aimed at appeasing the youths and allowing them to be used as political wheelbarrows to service.
The ex-minister noted that the bill was just ceremonial and did not talk about the economic capacity of the youth to contest elections.
He said,
Quote
“The #NotTooYoungToRun bill was passed and assented to when I was minister of youth and sports. When the youths were celebrating that day, it was the worst day of my life.
“Because the bill was just ceremonial and did not talk about the economic capacity of the youth to contest elections. If you are reviewing the ages downward, what of the money involved by political parties to contest for elections?
“Some political parties collected N100 million for presidential tickets during the last election. How many youths can afford that? I saw the bill as political hypocrisy to pacify the youths and allow them to be used as political wheelbarrows to service. There was nothing there to harvest.
“There is also this deliberate blackmail of the youth by the older generation. When it is time to appoint youths, they appoint a youth of their type, and when he fails, they say: ‘You can see now, we gave the youth an opportunity, and they failed’.”
“Because the bill was just ceremonial and did not talk about the economic capacity of the youth to contest elections. If you are reviewing the ages downward, what of the money involved by political parties to contest for elections?
“Some political parties collected N100 million for presidential tickets during the last election. How many youths can afford that? I saw the bill as political hypocrisy to pacify the youths and allow them to be used as political wheelbarrows to service. There was nothing there to harvest.
“There is also this deliberate blackmail of the youth by the older generation. When it is time to appoint youths, they appoint a youth of their type, and when he fails, they say: ‘You can see now, we gave the youth an opportunity, and they failed’.”
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