By KEMI KASUMU
It was a major catch as Action Democratic Party (ADP) Youth Leader, Hon. Paul Ogudu, who decamped from his party, made it into the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday.
His being ushered into the ruling party at the tail-end of the two-day Progressive Young Leaders Summit, which started Sunday at the International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja, is a major landmark achievement for the Dayo Israel-led Youth Wing of the APC.
Ogudu was received into the APC at the event by Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Hajia Rahmatu Tijani, who was assisted by APC National Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore.
As the summit continued, former Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, called on Nigerian youths to mobilise votes for All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in the 2023 general elections.
General Buratai made the call while also urging the youths to emulate heroes of the past like Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo and Ahmadu Bello.
The DEFENDER reports that Azikiwe, Awolowo and Bello took charge of the administration of Nigeria’s regional governments as youths and achieved what remain the vital components of development the nation has had at that youth age.
Also speaking at the summit, former Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Abubakar Sadique, stressed the need for over 70 percent of youths in the country not to sit on the fence in the 2023 general elections to allow older demography of people to determine their faith.
On his part the APC National Youth Leader, Hon. Dayo Israel, said the youth wing of the party has started rigorous mobilisation f youths to vote for the APC other than social media mobilisation alone.
“We are also engaging these people to begin to become fullscale stakeholders in their own communities mobilising votes during door-to-door campaign and also various advocacy in the grassroots, as foot-soldiers, to ensure that we can deliver His Excellency Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by the grace of the Almighty.
“If you are talking about the political party with the highest number of youths you are talking about the APC.”
About opposition he said, “You have one person in a room using five other accounts to tweet on social media and you create an impression that they are a lot of numbers. They use different names. We’ve see many of these things. It’s a lie.
“Do you know how many young people that APC has impacted with our tradermoni programme, our marketmoni programme?”
Wife of the APC Presidential Candidate, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, who also took time to participate at the all-important event, said youths and women are pivotal to the electoral success of the party in the now fast approaching general elections.
Senator Tinubu, who was represented by Hajiya Nana Kassim Shettima, Wife of APC Vice Presidential Candidate, urged APC youths to mobilise their fellow young ones across the 774 Local Government Areas of the country for the party’s presidential candidate to emerge victorious in the election.
Senator Tinubu spoke at the Progressive Young Leaders’ Summit organised by the Office of the APC National Youth Leader at the International Conference Centre in Abuja.
While also acknowledging the role of young people in promoting the party, she urged them to concentrate their efforts on grassroots mobilisation.
