2015 Elections: President Jonathan Moves To Control National Youth Council Of Nigeria By Olam

As President Jonathan Plans To Run In
2015, Intriques Emerges As He Moves
To Control The National Youth Council
Of Nigeria, Presidential Aspirants
Accuse Minister Of Youth Of
Lawlesness
For the past days, the Nigeria Governors
Forum Election has been in the fore of
the nation’s politics. Despite high level
intrigues by President Jonathan to stop
Chairman, Governors Forum; Rotimi
Amaechi’s re-election bid, the Governor
seem to have outsmarted the President
and his anointed candidate Governor
Jonah Jang of Plateau State. As a sign that
the Presidency may feel slighted by
Amaechi; who is rumoured to be nursing
a Vice-Presidential ambition in 2015, the
Peoples Democratic Party known for
controversies and disregard for the rule
of law decided to suspend the Rivers
State Governor from the party for a
decision taken by the legislative arm of
his state and Amaechi was deprived of
the opportunity to defend himself. This is
one of the many cases where Nigeria’s
ruling party has demonstrated its
contempt for the rule of law and courts.
More recently, the President Jonathan’s
administration has shifted attention to
the National Youth Council of Nigeria, a
move believed to be aimed at taking
control of all influential groups that can
truncate his bid for re-election in 2015.
The earlier scheduled congress for the
election for the National Youth Council of
Nigeria was to take place in April, 2013 at
Ondo State. Perhaps afraid that the
Presidency’s anointed candidate will be
defeated, the Department of State
Security are alleged to have cancelled the
elections claiming the security situation in
the state is not okay. An aide of Governor
Olusegun Mimiko on Youth Affairs, Mr.
Olamide George, told PUNCH’s
correspondent that the state was acting
on directive from the Federal
Government. The draft constitution of the
Nation’s Youth Council was expected to be
ratified at the congress but the Federal
Government through the Hon Minister of
Youth Development began
implementation of the unratified
constitution and allegedly insisted that
the congress must be moved to a PDP
state. Benue was chosen and some
aspirants immediately secured a Federal
High Court ruling, Lagos from Justice
Abang which directed that status quo
should be maintained with respect to the
notice of congress published on some
national dailies till hearing on the 11th of
June, 2013. It was revealed that the Hon
Minister of Youth Development,  Inuwa
Abdul-Kadir, Esq despite being served
with the court order went ahead to
disobey it. This is most regrettable
because the Hon Minsister of Youth Dev.
is not only a learned fellow but a former
Attorney General of Sokoto State. In a
message sent to delegates of the Youth
Council, Hon. (Chief) Mrs Elizabeth Ativie
on behalf of other members of the
incorporated Board of Trustee of the
Youth Council directed that congress
should be called off to obey the Federal
High Court ruling. Sources further
explained that the illegal congress at
Benue State was eventually suspended to
forestall breakdown of law and order and
court contempt but soon after security
agencies and delegates had departed, the
Honourable Minister of Youth began
writing names of selected government
candidates as winners of an election that
did not hold. A source accused President
Jonathan, National PDP Chairman and
current FERMA Chairman of being
desperate to foist what the source called
“a PDP candidate” on the Youth Council of
Nigeria. Chairman of FERMA, Engr Olajide
Adeniji is believed to be bankrolling this
effort with the money meant to repair
Nigeria’s roads while Mr Inuwa Abdul-
Kadir is accused of playing this script as
he has been promised a PDP
Governorship Ticket for his state in 2015.
President Jonathan is facing serious
opposition to his widely speculated re-
election bid in 2015. Many Nigerians are
unsatisfied with the progress of the
nation as unemployment seem to be
increasing by the day. The President is
alleged to be troubled by the new merger
of major opposition parties into the All
Progressives Congress and is aware that
the PDP chances are getting slimmer by
the day. His strategists believe that just
like the Governors Forum, the National
Youth Council may turn against the
President in 2015. The President’s
supporters argue that the incumbent
President of the National Youth council,
Wale Ajani who is seeking re-election
made the first effort to oppose the
President’s fuel subsidy removal in a
hunger strike protest at Abuja which led
to his arrest by officials of the
Department of State Security.  The
eventual fuel subsidy protest became one
of Nigeria’s biggest anti-government
movements and only ended after soldiers
were unleashed on protesters in what the
government feared may degenerate into
a violent revolution. President Jonathan
therefore seems to be particular on the
candidate that emerges as the number
one Youth in Nigeria. Fair enough, but the
President and his agents must do so fairly
and legally.
State owned media outfit Nigeria
Television Authority (NTA) reportedly
announced an unknown Shendam Yakubu
as the new President on the directive of
the Youth Minister despite the fact that
no election was held. Just like Governor
Jang, Shendam Yakubu is also from
Plateau State. Yakubu is reported to have
been a member of President Jonathan’s
Neighbour 2 Neighbour Campaign and is
seen as a loyalist to the President. A
telephone chat with one of the
Presidential Aspirants of the National
Youth Council, Phillip Jwan who is also
from Plateau state insisted that: “There
was no election”. He noted that Youths do
not recognize him (Shendam Yakubu) and
his integrity is questionable. An obviously
angry Jwan said that such imposition
without an election is unprecedented in
the history of the council and that: “We
will not be intimated or coerced by the
Federal Government”. He believes that
the office of the President is too high and
should not be brought to such ridicule. He
warned that the youth of Nigeria will
resist such illegality to the drop of their
blood. When contacted, the incumbent
President of the Council and an aspirant
seeking election believed that there was
desperate effort by high ranking Federal
Government officials to embarrass the
President, over heat the polity and
plunge the nation into further crises. He
urged President Jonathan to call the
Minister of Youth Development to order
and ensure that the rule of law is upheld.
Another Presidential Aspirant from North
Central (Kogi), Tosin Adeyanju revealed
that Shendam Yakubu is not even a
member of the National Youth Council
and affirmed no election actually held. He
disclosed that all Presidential Aspirants
will be giving a World Press Conference
tomorrow (Wednesday, 29th May, 2013)
and that the legal elections will take place
within 90 days from today (Tuesday, 28th
May). A Presidential aspirant from the
South East, Emeka Ikpegbu described the
situation as “a r*pe on democracy by the
Minister of Youths”. He said no elections
were held and this was “an aberration of
the highest order and an insult to good
consciences”. He lamented that the
Minister of Youth instructed his staff to go
on air (NTA) to announce an illegality. He
insisted that the President should
immediately remove the Youth Minister
as he is planning to plunge the nation into
crises with youth protests across the
country.