Tinubu, Peter Obi, Atiku Has 8-Year Records As Ex-Govs, Ex-VP, Vote Wisely – Gbajabiamila Tells Youths

Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has lectured Nigerian youths on how to choose their preferred candidate to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari next year.

The lawmaker who said the role of the youths cannot be played down, overemphasized in the country’s dealing, urged students and working-class youths to fully participate in the coming election to vote for and against the 18 candidates that would be contesting the presidential election.

Naija News reports that Gbajabiamila made the call in Abuja yesterday when he played host to the national executive of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) led by the President, Usman Barambu.

The NANS executives were said to have paid a courtesy visit to the lawmaker’s office at the National Assembly to specifically thank him for the resolution of the eight-month strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

Addressing the youths during the courtesy visit, Gbajabiamila said they must be objective and choose wisely the one with exceptional records from the list of presidential candidates that will appear on the 2023 ballot paper.

The Speaker stated that Nigerian youths should not pass up the opportunity of electing the next political leaders on their terms, which could only be achieved with their full participation in the electoral process.

Gbajabiamila in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Lanre Lasisi, highlighted the importance of the Nigerian youth in national development, saying, “You are a very important segment of Nigeria for national development. The role of youth in society cannot be overemphasised because you play a very critical role in what happens in this country now and in the future. It is important you understand that we recognise the importance of your place in national development.”

Look Closely At Their Records

While acknowledging that there are three front-runners in the 2023 presidential election, the lawmaker charged the youths to look closely at the records of all the eighteen party flag-bearers keen to succeed the incumbent government.

Gbajabiamila insisted that students could not afford to be detached from the process of electing the next President as the future of the country was at stake.

He said, “Well, for me, you (students) have a lot to do between now and election day.

“In the next three, or four months, you have a lot to do. What I mean is that you have to now begin to look at things differently, be able to look at things the way they are done in other climes, where people will look at things when it comes to politics and elections.

“What do I mean by that? We have so many candidates, not three, not four. People talk about having three frontrunners, perhaps, but as far as I’m concerned, we have 18 candidates running for the President of this country, and I don’t think you should overlook any one of them. You should not. What I want you to do, as is done in advanced democracies, is to look objectively, and this is what is done in other countries, people run on their records.”

He added: “If a candidate does not have a record to run on and is talking about something else, it means that he doesn’t have a record to run on. The good thing is that most of the candidates, at least the frontrunners, have records. I’m not pitching for anybody here but look at their records. If you feel he deserves to be the President of Nigeria, please, do not hesitate. Vote for that person based on his record.

“Two of them have been governors for eight years, that’s the only record they have.

“One has been the vice president for eight years. So, there are records. Vote for records. Every candidate must run on his record. And I believe the way you have been equipped mentally, I have interacted with so many of you, I believe you’re savvy enough to be able to, in spite of all the noise and the smokescreen, zero in on the right person for Nigeria.”

The House of Representative Speaker further asked the youths to also pray as they consider their preferred candidates.

He charged the youths to pray to God for guidance in making the right choice.

“I believe that it’s going to be a watershed moment in Nigeria and I believe that is exactly what is going to happen. That is the only charge I have for you today because that’s the most important thing before us in Nigeria right now,” Gbajabiamila said in the statement.