Less Than a month into the Tinubu administration, the president has already began appointments of principle officials into government including a request for 20 special advisers into his cabinet.
This is in comparison to his predecessor, former president Muhammadu Buhari, who took over a hundred days before making any moves to appoint principle officers into his cabinet.
The president has, in his manifesto, promised to appoint women and youth under the age of forty in 35 percent of his ministerial cabinet in a bid to increase youth participation and progress the government.
In an interview with ARISE NEWS on Thursday, Dr. Nicolas Felix: Former Deputy National Youth Coordinator of the dissolved Presidential Campaign Council of the All Progressives Congress (APC PCC) expressed his confidence in the government to follow through in their campaign plans for the youth as he described them as the “bedrock” of the nation.
“This is one of the things I have been advocating for. And one of the reason I went through with the primaries even when the nomination fee was high. To have youth in governance and in politics, not just during politics. You look at past administrations since democracy, how many youths do you see in the cabinet? It’s beginning to look like youth have nothing to offer yet we are the bedrock of the nation.
“I don’t think I want to throw names in the air but I’m confident in the president that he’s someone who is foresighted and knows how to pick the best. As governor of Lagos he picked the best to work with him.
“The area that I’m very interested in that we must do the right thing is area of youths.Like I said the youth cannot be redundant.
“We expect the president to pick round holes for round pegs. Not for example the minister of youth and sports who isn’t even a youth. How can somebody who isn’t even a youth be a minister of youth? That’s like appointing a man to be the minister of women affairs.”
In the president’s party manifesto, he made his plans clear. “Working with the National Assembly, we will aim to pass legislation promoting female employment in all government offices, ministries, and agencies. The goal will be to increase women’s participation in government to at least 35 percent of all governmental positions.”
“Reserve at least three cabinet positions for persons under the age of 40 and 6 more positions for members under the age of 50. We shall also pass a presidential directive requiring that at least 20 percent of political appointments to MDAs be reserved for qualified people under the age of forty.”
Nicolas Felix stated that the administration is ready to be run by “technocrats” who are not only technologically inclined but also ready to “run things” and be “proactive”. The politician stated that though president has already promised about 9 appointment to women and youth, he can only hope for more than that. But until then, he expressed his full support.
“I will say to every nigerian youth out there, we cannot be silent in this administration, we need to get busy. Thank GOD for all the policies that are in place already. But we want to see youths very very active in this administration and we are confident. The president has repeated said that he will have youth in his cabinet.”
Glamour Adah
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