#NotTooYoungToRun: Protesters storm NASS as const. review debate begins

The entrance to the National Assembly was on Tuesday shutdown by a coalition of youth groups who were protesting to demand the passage of “Not Too Young To Run” bill, a bill seeking the reduction of age requirements for political offices.

The coalition under the aegies of “I support #NottooYoungtoRun” staged their protest at the entrance of the National Assembly after they were denied access into the assembly complex by security men.

The protesters kicked off their protest from the Unity Fountain where they were addressed by Chidi Odinkalu, former chairman of the Human Rights Commission in Nigeria. He told them that the future of the country is in the hands of the youth and that it will be very unfortunate for the country to lose the momentous youth legislation.

He said,“We are in a country with the median age of 19 but people who want to save Nigeria’s unity have an average age of over 60.

“Who are they saving the country for? People are being invited across the country as leaders of thought, who are they thinking for? At our age, average age of the Nigerian youth given our life expectancy, we are already in the middle age and life expectancy for women is 51 and falling, for men, it’s 49 and falling.

“So, if you are in your 20s, you are in your middle age. People like me are already in injury time and people like us should be seeking to replace ourselves with the kind of people who are leading the Not Too Young to Run movement.

“Because we are going to die and life expectancy is short, we must replace ourselves with better people, when I look at young Nigerians I’m reassured that this country has a future. That is one promising thing about us. So, today let us go and take the national assembly asunder if we must.

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“We need to create inconvenience, if we don’t create inconvenience, nobody knows you are demonstrating. Let us cause some inconvenience, let Nigerians know young people matter. For the sake of this country, we need young people in office, we need young people in power, we need young people taking control.”

The bill, currently listed in the final report of the constitution review committee and under consideration in the ongoing clause-by-clause debate, requires a constitutional amendment that will alter sections 65, 106, 131 and 177 of the 1999 Constitution.

Its goal is to reduce the age qualification for aspirants into the office of the president from 40 to 30 years, office of governor from 35 to 30 years, senate from 35 to 30 years and the federal and state houses of assemblies from 30 to 25 years.

By Ebere Ndukwu …

 

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