Gbaja: Direct primary will give youths fair chance for involvement in governance

Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of the house of representatives, says direct primaries for political parties will give youths a fair chance to vie for government positions. 

Last week, the national assembly approved the conference committee report on the electoral act amendment bill.

In the report, the lawmakers approved that all political parties must use the direct primary mode in selecting candidates.

Although the development elicited varied reactions with some stakeholders, including governors, rejecting the proposal, the national assembly transmitted the bill to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent on Friday.

Speaking on Saturday at the 2021 Universal Children’s Day celebration in Abuja, Gbajabiamila said the direct primaries for political parties is “about the future of our country”.

“Our position in the ninth house of representatives is that everyone must have equal opportunities to participate in governance and the democratic process,” he said.

“Our young people must have a seat at the high table and we must create the enabling environment for them to be in leadership such that a young man with bold ideas can come out to vie for any position, be it legislator, governor or any other office. That can only be achieved through direct primaries, which will give a fair chance to the youth of this country to be involved in governance.”

The speaker said the federal government will deploy all measures to tackle insecurity in the country because peace is sacrosanct for development.

“Peace is a necessary condition for development and progress. The present insecurity and the rampaging uncertainty it creates across the land represent the single biggest threat to the well-being of our nation’s children and the security of their future,” he said.

“We must wage the battle for peace with a warrior’s resolve because everything depends on our victory over the forces that threaten our country and risk the future of our country.

“The ninth house of representatives has situated national security interventions at the top of our priorities in recognition of this. We have in the past year initiated legislative action to reform our national security infrastructure, improve funding for national security intervention and ensure effective oversight of resources allocated to protecting our country and defending our people from dangers within and external.

“We will continue in this regard because, as I said before, success in every other area depends on our success in this regard.”