The Amalgamated Civil Society Organizations of Nigeria (ACN), a non-profit, non-governmental, anti-corruption organization, has called for the inclusion of the youthful Nigerian population into governance.

ACN which has over a million civil society groups (both CSOs and NGOs), has called for inclusion of the youthful Nigerian population into governance.

This call is coming as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is about constituting his cabinet and other organs of government since assuming the mantle of leadership.

The Amalgamated CSOs/NGOs said they are joining the clarion call by opinion leaders, traditional rulers, women groups, youth groups and well-meaning Nigerians, that the time of using recycled politicians, failed or disgruntled politicians, is over, as the group observed that the nation was full of youthful technocrats and bureaucrats with a lot of energy that are eagerly waiting to contribute their quota to National Development.

The ACN therefore, solicited for the cooperation of the present administration to look beyond former governors, ministers and people that have hitherto brought Nigeria to where it is today. The group rather urged President Tinubu to look for viable, virile, professional and youths presently occupying the various offices nationwide and continue to engage them, instead of using worn-out, fatigued and corrupt leaders that have brought the country to its knees.

In a press release, the National President of the Amalgamated CSOs of Nigeria (ACN), Comrade Gbenga Ashiru Abiodun and its General Secretary, Comrade Yakubu Abdullahi, posited that “the continued usage of old hands will not augur well for the country, knowing full well that, most of them are facing graft issues and corruption allegations over their necks.” The group added that, again, “age was not on their side as they no longer have what it takes to preside over 21st Century organizations, as they are fatigued and too old to take modern decisions capable of bringing the desired change.”

The Amalgamated CSOs said President Tinubu was a change agent who is fixed on changing the country. Therefore, he should work with the youthful population, comprising both male and female, to change the narrative on ground as well as look at the possibility of using proactive youths, presently occupying positions of authority who are already doing well with or without supervision.

According to the anti-corruption organization, they want government to make use of the youths, to enable them head strategic positions in the present administration. They equally appealed to Nigerians to prevail on the President to tow this line that will bring an overall socio-economic development of the nation.

The CSOs noted that the youths are already playing a significant role in governance, because “65 per cent of Nigeria’s population is under 25. Therefore, we need to prioritize the affairs of the youthful population like never before. They also echoed that, “the collaborative efforts between generations are vital to achieving a sustainable effective and efficient governance that serves the collective interest of all.”

The Amalgamated group noted that “fresh and viable young people bring fresh perspective to issues and matters that affect the generality of Nigerian,” adding that, the youthful population of people in governance presently can also be taking into cognizance as most of them are doing extremely well, “like the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi and others who are daily changing the narrative in their respective endeavours and have become Nigerian youth ambassadors globally, for making efforts to change from below, under him, the organization has been repositioned and rebranded.”

The ACN also emphasized that the inclusion of youths and young people in the present administration, will promote “inclusivity, diversity and intergenerational dialogue between the old and the new, thereby leading to a robust, more rounded and equitable decision making that is expected in today’s management globally. The CSOs further advised the President to retain, promote and elevate outstanding young people inherited from previous administrations, looking at some high performing government agencies today led by youths and who are doing the nation proud.

They earnestly called on President Tinubu to discard and retire those so-called leaders that have brought the nation to “where we are today,” as the CSOs noted that “those so-called politicians do not mean well for the country, but only work towards achieving their self-serving agenda.”

The ACN has therefore reiterated that the only way that change can percolate to the grassroots of the country is by using strong, youthful energy backed up by sound decision making personalities who are desperate to bring change.

And, this, they observed, “can only be achieved by the young people who have a vision already of what they want Nigeria to look like or be in the next millennium.”

They advised that President Tinubu should retire and tell the old brigade to their faces to go and relax and be honourable advisers from the sidelines, “as these groups of people are too old and cannot add value to the system as envisaged by the President who is poised and ready for a change like the young people.”

The CSOs have therefore called on all Nigerians and well-wishers of the present administration to advise the President on this line of action of choosing the youths as against the tired legs, as well as make use of high performing youths presently occupying positions, to bring the needed change and transformation Nigeria so desires.

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Senators Abdullahi Adamu and Iyiola Omisore left their positions yesterday as national chairman and national secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) following complaints about lack of accountability and non-inclusive leadership.

They were also accused of personalising their positions and sidelining critical organs, particularly the National Working Committee (NWC) and National Executive Committee (NEC).

Besides, Adamu and Omisore, according to sources, lost out in the power game because of an indictment in the party’s audit report.

The sources said the chairman had become a source of division in the NEC and NWC.

Adamu and Omisore came into office in March last year.

APC National Vice Chairman (Northwest), Salihu Lukman, has consistently accused Adamu of violating the constitution of the party.

The infractions listed by him included the refusal to tender financial accounts, lack of budget for NEC approval, absence of women, youths and persons with disability wing; refusal to set up committees on establishment, finance, inter-governmental, conflict and reconciliation, and refusal to review the last general election.

Adamu was alleged to have acted at “variance with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, APC governors and members of the National Working Committee.”

Also, the audit report on their tenure was “untidy and suspicious,” the source said.

But ahead of horse-trading in the post-Adamu era, former Nasarawa State Governor Umar Tanko Almakura may become the next National Chairman, with National Vice Chairman (Southwest), Mr. Isaacs Kekemeke as National Secretary.

Contrary to speculations of a concession to the Southeast, Southwest was still pushing to retain the post of National Secretary.

It was learnt that APC leaders have decided to consider those grounded in party politics to lead it.

While Al-Makura has been a party leader since 1979 when he was the youth leader of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN), Kekemeke was a grassroots party coordinator and a former chairman of APC in Ondo State.

Sources said although President Tinubu wanted Adamu to be left in his position, many NWC and NEC members disagreed, insisting that the former chairman was “working at cross-purposes with” the President and other party leaders.

It was gathered that he was advised to resign by some of the leaders of the party.

The allegations against Adamu were unacceptability of Tinubu’s leadership, alleged contempt for the President, and open dissenting views with the President and APC stakeholders.

A source said: “Sen. Adamu was never on the same page with President Tinubu. Apart from his often repeated remarks that Tinubu was not his preferred candidate for the presidency, there were some campaigns he didn’t participate in.

“Adamu’s leadership is seen as bellicose. An example of this is when he publicly disowned the list of principal officers of the National Assembly as announced by the presiding officers who consulted him.

“Adamu described the announcement of the list as a mere rumour, casting a slur on the process. He failed to upturn what the leadership of the lawmakers did.

“There have been unguarded statements by Adamu. Without any medical report, he declared an ailing Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu as incapacitated, which embarrassed many party leaders, members and others.”

Another source said Adamu was also in a cold war with some APC governors and members of the National Working Committee (NWC).

The source added: “Adamu’s conduct and utterances were at variance with President Tinubu, APC governors and members of the National Working Committee.

“He has been presiding over a divided NWC because he took advantage of his age and past party and executive positions to ride roughshod members. He adopted an authoritarian style.

“No NWC member can offer alternative views and he didn’t accord them their rights and privileges as equals in a working committee.

“When the tension was high, Adamu and NWC members reached a truce on May 3rd with a pledge to allow all the structures to function optimally.

“But by May 10th, the agreement was deadlocked. Since then, there has been no peace in the NWC.

“All NWC members were not in sync with Adamu and it was not surprising that they ganged up against him.”

The audit report on the finances of APC led to pressure on Adamu and Omisore to quit.

A member of the NWC said: “The financial outlook of APC is untidy. NWC members were not pleased with it.

“There are so many queries to be answered by the party’s leadership. And no leader, including President Tinubu, can gloss over the discrepancies in APC’s account.”

Asked why Omisore’s fate was tied to Adamu’s, the source added: “These leaders acted like Siamese twins on all issues, including the financial management of the party.”

The horse-trading for the offices of the national chairman and the national secretary has started.

It was learnt that some governors, ex-governors and party leaders were already closing in on Al-Makura as the next national chairman and Kekemeke as secretary.

A former governor said: “APC governors and party leaders have been meeting on who should lead the party. The permutations so far have been in favour of the national chairman returning to Nasarawa State with ex-Governor Al-Makura highly favoured. We need to demonstrate that we have nothing against the people of Nasarawa.

“Some of our leaders have been pushing for the retention of the slot in the Southwest with Kekemeke as a favourite.”

NIGERIA’s oil output dropped month-on-month, MoM, by   5.5 per cent to 1.249 million barrels per day, mb/d, in June 2023, from 1.184 million mb/d in May 2023.

Also, on year-on-year, YoY, the nation’s oil output dropped by 17.6 per cent to 1.249 mb/d in June 2023, from 1.515 mb/d in the corresponding period of 2022.

In its latest July 2023 Monthly Oil Market Report obtained by Vanguard, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, disclosed that this was based on data obtained from official sources.

The report did not consider Nigeria’s condensate output, currently hovering between 300,000 and 400,000 bpd, meaning that when this is considered, the nation’s total output would be much higher.

However, in its latest July 2023 report, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, has it that Nigeria’s daily oil production lagged behind the OPEC quota in June as it rose marginally by 4.9 per cent to 1.241 million barrels compared to 1.183 million barrels recorded in May 2023.

NUPRC in its oil production figures indicated that in total crude oil production and condensate oil amounted to 1.472 million barrels per day last month, an increase of 3.15 percent when compared to May production of 1.427 million barrels per day.

[Vanguard]