A youth group under the auspices of the Presidential Support Council has rejected the appointment of Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, as the National Youth Coordinator of the All Progressives Congress presidential campaign council in the 2023 general election.
The party’s presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu had approved Bello’s appointment to lead youths of the APC in the presidential campaigns scheduled to begin on September 28, 2022.
Stating why they rejected Bello during a press conference in Lafia on Monday, the national leader of the group, Kassim Muhammad, said the position was to be given to a person not more than 40 years of age.
The group then urged the Kogi State governor to openly reject the offer for younger people in the group to contribute their quota to the presidential campaign council.
For Bello, a presidential aspirant in the recently conducted primary election of the party, he should rather be given a higher role to play in the campaign council instead of occupying the Youth Coordinator position.
On his side, Muhammad, a former member of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly said;
“There are capable youths within the party who have the capacity and capability to handle that position in the Presidential Campaign Council, and that would have given Nigerian youths a better hope in the incoming APC administration under Bola Tinubu.
We recognise the antecedents of Bola Ahmed Tinubu to grow and develop youths. He has done well to several youths across the country who are today great men and women, and doing well in their various endeavours.
But appointing a serving governor into a position that should be occupied by a youth is unacceptable. Governor Yahaya Bello is too big for such a role, so the appointment should be reconsidered.
The party and its presidential candidate should give the youths an assurance that the incoming government will be that of inclusivity, and the only way to do that is to ensure that a youth is given the National Youth Coordinator position.
Nigeria’s latest population estimate stood at 198 million, and half of the population is made up of the youths between ages 15-40. So the youths should be given top priority by any leadership in the country
for inclusivity.
We have over 300 youth groups under the Presidential Support Council, and we have all decided that we are not in support of Governor Yahaya Bello to lead the youths into the APC presidential campaigns for the 2023 general election.”
