12 States pass the Not-Too-Young-To-Run Bill

The #NotTooYoungToRun campaign is gathering momentum as a total of 12 states have passed the age reduction bill. The Bill seeks to reduce the age of running for political office, from President to House of Assembly.

The age reduction Bill which was campaigned for by the Youth Initiative for Advocacy Growth and Advancement (YIAGA) and sponsored by Hon. Tony Nwulu in the House of Representatives and Sen. Abdul-Aziz Nyako in the Senate seeks to reduce the age of running for President to 35 and Governor or Senators to 30. It is a change from the initial 40 and 35 years limit respectively, which was mandated by the constitution.

The Bill would also pave the way for 25-year olds to Legislate in the National and State Assemblies across the country.

Twelve (12) states have passed the bill so far including; Kwara, Edo, Kastina, Nasarawa, Ekiti, Benue and Yobe. Others include Borno, Adamawa, Delta, Enugu, and Gombe. Reliable sources from the state house of assemblies confirmed that state lawmakers voted for the age reduction.

Meanwhile, the Bill needs to be passed by at least 24 State House of Assemblies, after which the President has to assent to it before it becomes law. The House of Representatives and the Senate passed the age reduction bill in July 2017.

It can be recalled that YIAGA convened a Town Hall meeting in December where youths across Nigeria and members of the public from all spheres of the society gathered at the Ladi Kwali conference hall of the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja in a townhall meeting to engage state lawmakers on the passage of the #NotTooYoungToRun Bill, and also witness the launch of the #ReadyToRun campaign, which is the next phase of the #NotTooYoungToRun campaign.

 The townhall meeting, which had in attendance Speakers of Four (4) State House of Assemblies namely; Kwara, Benue, Ekiti, and Kaduna respectively, alongside representatives of Cross-River and Kebbi State Speakers; afforded the lawmakers opportunity to openly commit to passage of the Bill.

By PRNigeria