THE Deputy President, National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Comrade Innocent Ndohaya, has said that 80million Nigerian youths are to determine the outcome of the 2019 general elections.
Speaking during the inauguration of NYCN Local Government Executives in Awka, the Anambra state capital, the NYCN boss revealed that judging from the figures from the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration release so far by the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, since April 2017 when exercise commence, coupled with the voting pattern in the 2015 general elections, Nigerian youths currently constitute a sizeable percentage of the total population of registered voters in the country.
Mr Nduanya was quoted by newsmen as saying, “From what we are seeing so far (in the ongoing CVR), 2019 is going to be the year of the youth. And I am boosting to you that come February 16, 2019, Presidential election, it is the youths that will decide who will lead Nigerians beyond 2019.
To be honest, quite a large number of those that have registered to vote in next year polls are youths, meaning the young boys and girls between the ages of 18 and 35. When we did the analysis of the 2015 presidential election results in one of executive meeting in Abuja, we discover that youths where the major players of that election.
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When asked on the activities of thuggery, ballot box snatching, harassment, molestation of voters and other criminal behaviours perpetrated by youths during the election, the NYCN deputy President, said am assuring Nigerians under the leadership of Comrade Bello Shagari that the 2019 general elections are going to be the most peaceful Nigeria would ever conduct.
We are setting up a monitoring committee in partnership with the security agencies, the INEC, Political parties in all the 36 States and the FCT to monitor and prosecute the activities of not only the youths but politicians that may engage the youths on notorious activities during the election.
He warned political parties and politicians against vote buying in the forthcoming elections, saying the trend is capable of damaging the political future of Nigeria youths.
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