The former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung, has claimed that the #NotTooYoungToRun bill was deliberate blackmail on the youths of Nigeria, News About Nigeria reports.
He stated this while speaking at a virtual lecture organised by Crisp Nigeria (CrispNG) on Saturday.
The minister described the day the bill was passed into law as the worst day of his life.
Recall that the #NotTooYoungToRun bill was passed into law under the Ahmed Lawan-led National Assembly and assented to by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2018.
The law reduces the age qualification for the President from 35 to 30, for governors from 35 to 30, for senators from 35 to 30, for House of Representatives members from 30 to 25, and for State House of Assembly members from 30 to 25.
Speaking, Dalung stated that the law was passed to pacify the youths and allow them to be used as political pawns.
He added that the bill was merely ceremonial and did not address the economic capacity of the youth to contest elections.
“The #NotTooYoungToRun bill was passed and assented to when I was Minister of Youth and Sports. When the youth were celebrating that day, it was the worst day of my life.
“The bill was just ceremonial and did not address the economic capacity of the youth to contest elections. If you are lowering the age requirements, what about the financial demands made by political parties to contest elections?
“Some political parties collected ₦100 million for presidential tickets during the last election. How many youths can afford that? I saw the bill as political hypocrisy, meant to pacify the youth and make them political pawns. There was nothing substantial to gain.
“There is also deliberate blackmail of the youth by the older generation. When it is time to appoint youths, they select those of their own kind, and when these individuals fail, they say, ‘You can see now, we gave the youth an opportunity, and they failed,” he stated.
