May 7, 2018

An NGO, Young Leaders Empowerment Forum on Monday said it was making arrangements to massively mobilise youth for the collection of the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to enable them to fully participate in the 2019 general elections.

Mrs Oluwafolake Kolawole, Lagos Coordinator of the Forum, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that it was important for the youth to utilise the opportunity of the ongoing continuous voter registration to obtain their PVCs.

Kolawole said such move would enable the youth to actively get involved in constructive political discussions and governance.

“The forum is in talks with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to work out how more youths will get registered before the end of the current phase of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).

“Many youths who are in the middle class category, are usually at work when the CVR is taking place; they have no time to go and register. Even those who have registered are not able to get their PVCs due to lack of time.

“Our forum is working out how to address this challenge so that many youth will be actively involved, vote and be voted for.

“We have always been told that the youth are the future of Nigeria, and the only way to secure this future is to get involved in electoral process; get our PVCs and take our destinies into our hands.

“This coming election is our opportunity to change things,” she said.

Kolawole said the forum would also be organising a public lecture on Electoral Participation of youth with the topic – ‘Politics of Sustainable Development in Nigeria, Exploring the Inclusion of the Middle Class in the Dominant Discourse’.

“The event which will hold on May 19 in Ikeja will feature political analysts who will educate the youths on the need to be actively involved in electoral processes.

“Your vote is your right. It is your power, we are appealing to our youth to choose to exercise that power because it determines what kind of future we will have as a nation,” Kolawole said.