Nigerian Lawmaker Launches Campaign for 70% Youth Representation in Government
A Nigerian federal lawmaker has launched a structured campaign aimed at securing at least 70 percent representation for young people in key elective and appointive offices by the next election cycle. Rep. Abdussamad Dasuki, Interim Chairman of the Future Is Now (FiN) Initiative, made the announcement during a campus activation event at the Federal University of Lafia, Nasarawa State, which drew over 300 students.
The initiative sets specific age-based targets: 70 percent of Local Government Chairmanship seats, and 70 percent of seats in State Houses of Assembly and the House of Representatives, should be contested and won by candidates under 40. Additionally, it advocates for 50 percent of federal and state executive appointments to be reserved for Nigerians within the same age bracket.
Dasuki, speaking through representative Apochi Nelson-Owoicho, argued that governance must start from the grassroots and that younger leaders are better attuned to contemporary issues like education, healthcare, digital access, and job creation. He framed the effort as a necessary response to Nigeria’s demographic reality, where a significant majority of the population is youth.
The campaign officially follows the October 1, 2023, unveiling of the Future Is Now Project in Abuja, which Dasuki described as a shift from complaints about exclusion to concrete demands for representation. He emphasized that the movement is non-partisan and inclusive, focused on transforming governance culture rather than simply replacing one elite with another. “This is not a partisan movement. It is a generational movement,” he stated, noting the group’s work to mentor credible youth candidates across political parties while promoting integrity and national unity.
Dasuki clarified that the push for youth inclusion is not an attack on older generations but a request for a “gracious yielding of space,” likening nation-building to a relay race. He urged elder statesmen to serve as mentors while allowing younger leaders greater responsibility.
Directly addressing students, he challenged them to transition from spectators to participants by engaging in policy debates, joining political parties, demanding internal democracy, registering to vote, and building expertise in public administration. “The question is not whether Nigeria will change. The question is who will drive that change,” he said.
To move beyond declarations, FiN has outlined a phased implementation roadmap based on five pillars: preparation and content development, campus activation rollout, digital engagement, leadership pipeline and certification, and ongoing monitoring and evaluation. The initiative concludes that the time for Nigerian youth to claim their decision-making role is now, urging them to “claim their seat” in shaping the country’s future rather than postponing destiny.
Comments are closed for this story.