This open letter has become pertinent as present experience has left us in check of how our internal party system has been, especially with the quality of Representatives we have been opportune to produce and the results they have been able to boast over their terms in office.
The youths of kOgi state most especially, the Kogi central and specifically the youths of Okene/Ogori Magongo Federal constituency have deemed it fit to air their opinions, on the forthcoming APC primaries that will produce our various party flagbearers going into the general election next year Feb as INEC timetable has postulated.
The last 3-4 years of our National Assembly members in the upper and lower chamber and how they have media critically brought abysmal results and thrown away people-oriented programs and policies have forced us to reminiscent of how our representatives at the national levels were produced by our dear party.
There is no gainsaying that our esteemed youths have shown uttermost love and loyalty to the party and deserve better governance and people-oriented representation but most of the youths bit their hands when they see what other Representatives from other states are delivering to their constituents while we see outrage package of 5,000- 20,000 as youth empowerment and developmental programs.
We don’t deserve these insults and will like to see the genesis of this poor representation and thereby tackle such from the root.
We have conscientiously noticed that our Representative members are not the people who demand candidate(s), but party imposed candidates for whatever reason we don’t know but we have to show our loyalty by respecting party decisions, supporting, canvas, and pulling votes for them.
Some of these people were products of clannish Political settlement, families appeasing candidates, friends, and loyalist candidates of the party leader(s). They in turn do not have the people in mind, do not strive to appease the general electorate but appease their families, and clans and give back to their boss only.
When jobs are available, only their families benefit, when they have won elections, they abandoned the people and move completely with their families to Abuja losing total touch with the grassroots. Constituency projects are done on paper while the funds are diverted for personal aggrandizement.
We youths cannot and will not tolerate this societal retrogressive representation.
We deserve a quality representation and as party members and loyalists, we call on all delegates and the party leader(s) to shun every form of inimical process that produce such failures in the National Assembly.
We are glad money bags Politics has reduced drastically in Kogi state, kudos to our party leaders, we must also shun other vices that produce candidates not in tandem with the electorate, party supporters’ plight.
The youths have had lots of meetings in recent times and we have acknowledged that though we have little or no input in choosing our candidates we have the right and opportunity to drive our case using protest votes against any candidate that is not what People demanded.
We are the polling units foot soldiers who canvass from house to house, who beg electorates who have lost confidence in coming out to vote to do so for our sake as we churned out promises on behalf of our party, we risk our lives against opposition threats and even physical assault, we are the one who stands to protect votes and make sure they are submitted accurately, most of us lose vital items like phones, wristwatch, money while doing all this.
We won’t tolerate any party candidate that has forgotten us in their past tenure in NASS, we shall resist them if they find their way to the INEC ballot papers, we will stand against them before, during, and after the election if any action is taken to maneuver our choice (By God grace) with digital evidence where necessary.
The party delegates and Leaders should not see this open letter as a threat but call to do the right thing, a call to listen to the people of their choice, a call to orient our candidates that we are important to them before and after electioneering period, a call to give the youths listening ears.
We hope for the best as we go into the party primaries, we hope we have good NASS Reps and senate who can facilitate projects back to their constituency, who can go all the way to get more slots of jobs for our youths, who will not sell constituency projects to make money for himself alone, who is eloquent, sociable to get other honorable colleagues to support for the benefits of our people, who is well educated and can bring about policies that have a positive impact on the people, who can always rise on the floor of the national assembly and air our view, who will always come home to get his people opinion about national issues and present same as a true representative of the people. We hope to have the people-oriented candidates, we hope our party flags the people’s demand and we hope to come out victorious and have a quality representation.
Long Live Our youths
Long Live Our Delegates
Long Live Our party Leader(s)
Long live our APC
Victory is Ours 2023
