The Nigeria Diasporan Youth in South Africa, has endorsed and solicited support for the presidential aspirations of Kogi Gov. Yahaya Bello.
NDYSA made this known on Friday during their quarterly meeting held at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, UP, Pretoria, South Africa.
The News Agency of Nigeria reported that the group appraised the political development in Nigeria against the backdrop of the 2023 Presidential Elections.
According to the statement, the meeting, which had more than 40 youths drawn from Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, and Cape Town, having considered all Politicians aspiring to succeed President Muhammed Buhari in 2023, decided to endorse Alhaji Yahaya Bello.
It said that the group supported Bello to take over and drive Nigeria to the ‘Eldorado of their dream”.
The Leader and Executive Director of the group, Dr. Sunday Bayode, a Research Assistance at the University of Pretoria, stressed the need for Nigerians, particularly the youth, to play a lead role in ensuring the emergence of Bello as the next president of Nigeria.
Bayode stated that their findings revealed that over 80 per cent of Bello’s appointees were youths below 40.
“His widespread endorsement among most youth groups in Nigeria stands him out; his interest for the youth, the less privileged, and persons with disabilities could be read everywhere.
” With an unprecedented 80 per cent of appointees coming from the youth class, is the realisation that young persons are the leaders of tomorrow”.
The statement also quoted the group’s Secretary-General, Igba Ajogwu, an indigene of Kogi, saying that what informed the group’s decision was the nation’s challenges.
“The greatest challenge in Nigeria presently remained the issue of insecurity and unemployment.
“My recent visit to Nigeria and my state indicates that Kogi State is one of the secured places in Nigeria.
“As we speak, across Nigeria, the highest concentration of youths in Nigeria are in tertiary institutions that have been at home owing to ASUU strike for the past three to four months.
” The two state-owned universities in Kogi have had an uninterrupted academic session. The governor must be doing something serious.
” He is youthful and down to earth courageous. We shall mobilize ourselves to Nigeria to support his emergence,” he said.
The statement said that some group officials were also in attendance, like Abdullahi Zakari, the Director-General of the Kogi State Office of the Public Defender and Citizens’ Rights Commission, PDCRC.
The statement said that Zakari was at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, South Africa, with other officials of the Commission, including the Chairman of the Governing Council, Muizideen Abdullahi Yoonus.
Zakari thanked the group for their support for Bello and promised to convey their message to him accordingly.
The director-general said that the governor had demonstrated leadership and capacity in handling state affairs, adding that posterity would commend them for their decision.
He explained that the state officials were in the centre to conclude the implementation modalities of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Kogi State Government to benefit Kogi PDCRC and the Centre for Human Rights.
” Apart from establishing the Commission exclusively for the indigent to access justice free of any fee and to take responsibility for human rights in the state;
“He has also executed an agreement for the continuous training of law officers of the Commission,” Zakari said.
