Youth group appeals to young Nigerians to collect their PVCs

A youth group, #YouthDecide2019, has appealed to youths nationwide to ensure that they use the remaining weeks before the general elections to collect their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs). National Coordinator of #YouthDecide2019, Mr Chukwuma Okenwa, made the appeal while speaking with newsmen in Enugu on Sunday. It would be recalled that INEC recently said over 51 per cent of the total 84.2 million registered voters fall into the active youth age bracket of between 20 and 40 years. The commission also said over 15 million of the PVCs were still uncollected nationwide. Okenwa called for reduction in millions of uncollected PVCs in various offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) nationwide. He urged Nigerian youths to be part of the current political process and ensure election of those who would better their living conditions. He said no youth should sit on the fence to watch; and thereafter complain about ineptitude and bad governance. “This is our golden opportunity to make the impact we desire since currently youths out-number any other strata of the society participating in the election even in our neighbourhoods and communities. “This time, we must demand for youth-oriented leaders, who have spelt out viable youth programmes that will shape our future for the better. “There is still ample time from now to the last week to the election for us, youths, to collect our PVCs and make the difference in our lives and national socio-political polity,’’ he said. The co-coordinator also urged youths to get ready to vote and stay close to protect their votes on the Election Day. “Youths should also join various youthful electronic election platforms to get enlightened on how best to get clear commitment and agreement from youth-oriented candidates of any elective position. “They will also learn from others and other experienced people in these electronic platforms the act of result-oriented political engagement. “So that we have accountable leaders at each level of governance in the country,’’ he added. President Muhammadu Buhari on May 31, 2018 signed the Not-Too-Young-To-Run Bill into law, to further pave the way for Nigerian youths to be actively involved in the nation’s political leadership. Moses Oyediran, Enugu