The National Youth Council of Nigeria, Ekiti State, are demanding 40 per cent inclusion of youths in government of the incoming administration of Biodun Oyebanji taking off on October 16, 2022.
Making the demand, Ekiti NYCN Chairman, Oluwasegun Bankole, expressed the body’s determination to key into the policy thrust of the incoming government which he said prioritised youth empowerment.
Bankole, who spoke in Ado Ekiti on Thursday during his inaugural press briefing consequent upon his election and assumption of office on Wednesday, assured that he had come on board to rebrand Ekiti youth and change the narratives through effective collaboration with local and international organisations to better the lots of Ekiti youth.
He said, “Regarding youth involvement in governance, we are not expecting anything less than 40 per cent of political appointments from Oyebanji’s government for youths as part of the ways to empower and accord us recognition in government.
“The NYCN is ready to key into Biodun Oyebanji’s policy thrust, because we have studied it and found that he makes youth empowerment a priority on his list”.
He expressed concern over the ongoing strike by members of Academic Staff Union of Universities, saying NYCN national body would “call the attentions of our stakeholders to the reason why this strike should end now.
“Reports we are getting show that many of our female students have been impregnated, while some of the male counterparts are into criminalities because they are not occupied and productive in the seven months duration of this industrial action,” he said .
According to the acting Chairman of the electoral panel that conducted the election, Funso Balogun, Bankole polled a total of 109 votes to defeat his closest rival, Segun Famuyibo, who garnered 14 votes in the poll supervised by security agencies and Ekiti State Ministry of Youth and Sports.
The President, National Association of Nigerian Students, Sunday Asefon, who is immediate past Publicity Secretary of Ekiti NYCN, cautioned against factionalisation of the body, saying this would not be in the interest of the youth.
Asefon lauded Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi for presenting a parcel of land and the Certificate of Occupancy to NYCN to build a state secretariat for the youth body.
