Not Too Young To Run: CSOs Want Buhari To Sign Bill

Not-Too-Young-To-Run Movement, a Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately append his signature to the bill lowering age for participation and contesting in elections in Nigeria now on his table.

A Principal Officers of the movement, Mr. Samson Itodo, said in a statement in Abuja that the group had already sent a letter to the President to assent to the Not-Too-Young-To-Run Bill which aimed to enhance youth’s participant in politics.

According to the group, the quest for age reduction for persons to participate in politics was premised on five points of promoting inclusion, deepening inter-generational dialogue and exchange, and enhancing democratic development.

“Till date, this campaign has gained both national and global attention with the United Nations adopting it as a global campaign for youth inclusion.

“More recently, the African Union and ECOWAS also endorsed the campaign and have launched it in several countries in Africa like Kenya, Gambia, Liberia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Cameroun and Sierra Leone, ” the group said.

The group recalled that the Senate passed the bill in July 2017 with an overwhelming majority of 86 senators while it was also passed by a large majority of 261 members in the House of Representatives.

It also noted that in February 2018, the age reduction Constitution Amendment Bill was popularly known as Not-Too-Young-To-Run was passed by 33 out of 36 states’ Houses of Assembly.

“With this unprecedented feat, the world looks to you to assent to the constitutional amendment.

“Once you assent, the bill becomes law making it possible for young people to run for office in 2019 and beyond.

“It is against this background that the Not-Too-Young-To-Run Movement requests that you assent to the age reduction bill as soon as the National Assembly transmits the constitutional amendment bills to you,” the group urged Buhari.