The African Democratic Congress (ADC) national youth leader, Comrade Balarabe Rufai, has stated that the party’s primary focus is on sanitizing the system and changing the narrative, rather than on who emerges as the presidential candidate. Rufai made this statement during a solidarity visit by the Coalition for Nigerian Youth in Politics (CONYIP) to his office on Saturday in Abuja.
Rufai criticized the current government’s approach to youth development, citing a stark disparity in budget allocations. He pointed out that while the Lagos-Calabar road project is allocated over N15 trillion and airport renovations receive N712 billion, the Ministry of Youth Development is only budgeted N14 billion. Rufai argued that if the funds allocated to the Lagos-Calabar road project were redirected to youth development, over 5 million Nigerian youths could escape poverty and become employers of labor.
CONYIP national convener, Comrade Nnamdi Ezemagu, commended ADC for choosing Rufai as its national youth leader, describing it as a perfect choice. Ezemagu assured Rufai of CONYIP’s maximum support and praised ADC for ceding 40% of elective and appointive positions to youths. He urged other political parties to emulate ADC’s youth-inclusive approach, emphasizing that Nigerian youths will only support parties that recognize and support them.
“We are on a mission to ensure that our voices are heard and our interests are represented,” Ezemagu said. “Days of used and dump are over; it’s time for partnerships of relationships and relationships of mutual benefits across the board.” Rufai and Ezemagu’s statements highlight the need for a reevaluation of government priorities and a more youth-centric approach to development.