The outgoing deputy national youth leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Afeez Bolaji Repete, has advocated for more youth participation in party politics as the party plans ahead of February 2022 national convention.
This was just as Repete, who spoke after the meeting of the APC national youth leadership, begged those who are aggrieved as a result of the just concluded ward, local and state congresses of the party to approach the reconciliation committee instead of waging war on media.
Being the press briefing issued by the Official Youth Wing of All Progressives Congress after the meeting of APC National Youth Leadership convened by the National Youth Representative on the CECPC, Barrister Ismaeel Ahmed.
Gentlemen of the Press,
1. Firstly, we will like to, on behalf of the youth wing of the party appreciate the press for coming out on a Sunday to cover our program. Behind me are the Six 6 Zonal youth leaders, youth leaders elect and other young stakeholders of our great party who form the crux of the leadership of the official youth wing of the All Progressives Congress.
2. As an integral caucus of the APC, we welcome and applaud the decision by the president and the progressives governors forum to have our National Convention in February 2022. The young people of our great party are ready to participate in the convention as they have done during the ward, local government and state congresses.
3. As a Caucus, we trust the decisions of our leaders to be in the best interest of the party and we appeal to all young people and indeed all party loyalists to trust the judgement of Mr. President and the leadership of the party
4. We are using this opportunity to encourage young people in our party to run for NWC and non-NWC positions in the forthcoming election and also appeal to Mr President and the party leadership to give consideration for more young people to hold positions at the forthcoming national convention. This is particularly important as we all know that you cannot teach someone how to drive by putting them in the backseat.
5. We also encourage all members to take advantage of the reconciliation committee headed by Senator Adamu Abdulahi to air their grievances and seek adequate recompense rather than slugging it out on the pages of newspapers, online or television studios. It is our belief that the preservation of the party is important for us young people to achieve our political and ideological goals.
6. Furthermore, Representatives of the youth wing will approach the Progressives Governors forum chairman, our national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the national chairman of the CECPC (H.E Mai Mala Buni) and hand over a written resolve to appeal for more young inclusions. In line with the communique of the Progressive Youth Conference which was approved and attended by the President, Vice President and key party leaders.
7. We will proceed on the south and northern part of the country to hold zonal meetings with young people of the APC in those zones.
8. The leadership of the youth wing will proceed on regional rallies to drum support for the young people contesting either in the National Convention or the general elections.
9. In conclusion, we will like to appeal to members of the press to be professional in their conduct when covering youth related stories from our party. The APC has only one recognized Youth Wing and it causes confusion when the press does not bother to verify the identity as well as their status before publishing. The party has several support groups and a lot more youth support groups. We appeal to the media to be specific when reporting stories and cease from brandishing any group not elected or appointed to speak on behalf of youths in our party.
10. Thank you for your time.
Hon. Afeez Bolaji Repete
Deputy National Youth Leader
