NYCN NATIONAL CONGRESS HELD IN MINNA: RESULT OF ELECTIONS

            NATIONAL YOUTH COUNCIL OF NIGERIA  

            2013 ELECTORAL COMMITTEE

       

              PRESS STATEMENT

In line with the decision taken at the inconclusive Congress of the National Youth Council of Nigeria which took place from May 24^th to 26^th, 2013 in Makurdi, Benue State, a Transition Committee led by Solomon Idiogbe with a mandate to conduct a credible election within 90 days was setup since no election took place in Makurdi.

The Ordinary Congress of the National Youth Council of Nigeria witnessed by national and international observers including the Secretary of the board of trustees of the Council Hon. (Chief) Mrs Elizabeth Ativie, a former President of the Council and a member, Edo State House of Assembly. The congress  was held in Minna, Niger State between 21^st  to 24^th  August, 2013, having met the constitutional provision of half (½) of the Council members in accordance with schedule 2(b) of the NYCN constitution.

The Chief Servant, His Excellency, Governor of Niger State, Mu’azu Babaginda Aliyu performed the symbolic presentation of Certificate of return to the newly elected president of the Council, Comrade Abdullahi AbdulMajeed under the watchful eyes of Ms. Josephine Washima, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Youth and Job creation. 

The NYCN expresses her appreciation to the President, His Excellency, Goodluck Jonathan for the presence of the presidency at Minna Congress to witnessed the historic NYCN Congress, where the truly elected officers of the Council emerged and for his unwavering commitment to promoting credible electoral process at all levels in the country.

The under mentioned people were duly elected in accordance with the constitution of the National Youth Council of Nigeria, for a four (4) year tenure and were sworn-in by Hon. AbdulRahman Idris, Senior Magistrate, Mlnna Niger State.  .

 THE NEWLY ELECTED OFFICERS OF THE NATIONAL YOUTH COUNCIL OF NIGERIA

PRESIDENT:                                                                                                 Abdullahi Abdulmajeed

DEPUTY PRESIDENT:                                                                                 Osain Mathew Azibalua

VICE PRESIDENT SOUTH – EAST:                                                          Raphael Chukwujekwu

VICE PRESIDENT SOUTH – WEST:                                                         Adeeso Sodiq Mikail

VICE PRESIDENT NORTH – CENTRAL:                                                 Yusuf Ibrahim O.

VICE PRESIDENT NORTH – EAST:                                                          Sumaiya E. Ahmadu

VICE PRESIDENT NORTH – WEST:                                                        Abubarkar Mohammed Saleme

SECRETARY GENERAL:                                                                             Kelani Yussuf Olatunji

ASSISTANT SECRETARY GENERAL:                                                     Lukman Umar Kankia

TREASURER:                                                                                                Scolastica Bamai

FINANCIAL SECRETARY:                                                                          Lamir Aminu

INTERNAL AUDITOR:                                                                               Taiwo Olatunde Azeez

PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER:                                                                Ibe Christogonus Chidiebere

SOCIAL SECRETARY:                                                                                 Manukwem Chinyere

LEGAL ADVISER:                                                                                        Abubakar Suleiman

ORGANISING SECRETARY SOUTH – SOUTH:                                     Prince Ayuk Ojong A.

ORGANISING SECRETARY SOUTH – WEST:                                       Popoola Isiaka Olamilekan

ORGANISING SECRETARY SOUTH – EAST:                                        John E. Nwakanma

ORGANISING SECRETARY NORTH – CENTRAL:                              Ado shuaibu

ORGANISING SECRETARY NORTH – EAST:                                       Idris Mohammed

ORGANISING SECRETARY NORTH – WEST:                                      Mustapha Umar

ORGANISING SECRETARY HEADQUARTERS:                                   Tijani Abdulmumini

We express our profound gratitude to the government and the good people of Niger State for providing the platform to do justice to the Makurdi Congress injustice.   

BUILD THE YOUTH, BUILD THE NATION.                                                           

                                                                           

Dynamite Olusegun Ewedemi                                                    Sanusi Musa Gusau

Chairman                                                                                       Secretary

Electoral Committee                                                                    Electoral Committee

07033195757                                                                                08065696501                     

Ref: Electoral Committee (ELECO), Minna 2013 Congress

PRESS BRIEFING BY MEMBERS OF THE 2013 ELECTORAL COMMITTEE OF NYCN AT MAKURDI

PRESS BRIEFING BY MEMBERS OF THE 2013 ELECTORAL COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL YOUTH COUNCIL OF NIGERIA: MARKUDI 2013 YOUTH CONGRESS, ON THE 11TH OF JUNE, 2013 AT NUJ HALL, ABUJA.

RAPE OF JUSTICE, BREACH OF NYCN CONSTITUTION AND NATIONAL YOUTH DEVELOPMENT POLICY AND CALCULATED ATTEMPT TO FACTIONALISED THE NYCN

We wish to bring to the attention of the entire world as members of the electoral committee, the crisis that has engulfed the National Youth Council of Nigeria bred by criminal declaration of some group of youth claiming to be purportedly elected in an inconclusive congress in Markurdi, Benue State, thereby breaking the law and stomping on the face of the Constitution of the National Youth Council of Nigeria and the Constitution of our dear Country.

 

In order to familiarise you with the situation that is seriously polarising the Youths as a resultant effect of the day light robbery, open rape of justice, flagrant disrespect for constitutionality and abuse of office, we shall briefly acquaint you with a short narration of the issues.

 

Background

The National Youth Council of Nigeria has been in crisis since 2007 with no seeming end in sight, until the intervention of some past leaders who mediated and encouraged the formation of the National Transition Committee (NTC) in 2012 and the Congress Planning Committee to midwife a much desired transition to a new government, for a period of six months according to the consent judgment.  In the course of the transition, the Electoral Committee was established to perform the duties specified and expected of it by the Constitution of the National Youth Council of Nigeria.

The Congress

The Congress Planning Committee kick-started the process, as it sold forms for Aspirants to contest the various Offices in the National Executive Committee of the National Youth Council of Nigeria.

 

In line with the Congress Planning Committee’s timeline, few delegates had arrived Akure, the Ondo State capital for the Congress between 25 – 27th April, 2013 when the Congress was aborted by the Federal Ministry of Youth Development. As a result of failure of Akure congress to hold as scheduled due to what was described as ‘lack of security clearance by the State Security Service’, one over ambitious Henry Nwabueze declared himself the President of the National Youth Council of Nigeria, when there was less than a quarter of the membership of the Council and no formal or procedural assemblage of youth in accordance with the norms and constitution of the Council at Akure.

The National Youth Development Policy clearly defined the roles of each partnering agencies, including the working relationship of the Federal Ministry of Youth Development that is limited to providing financial and logistics support with clarity that the operational activities of the Council will be free of government direct control and interference. Despite this, the Congress was however unilaterally rescheduled for Markurdi, Benue State by the Federal Ministry of Youth Development while 24th to 26th of May, 2013 for the congress was jointly agreed by stakeholders.

The Electoral Committee having collected the forms from the Congress Planning Committee screened the Aspirants who had obtained forms to contest and scrutinized their documents for authenticity and specifications in Abuja between the 20th and 24th of May and continued in Markurdi on 25th May , 2013. In line with the convention of the Council, delegates from across the States and Voluntary Youth Organisations from the Six Geo-Political Zones of Nigeria converged at Makurdi, the Benue State capital to exercise their civic rights and their statutory duties. The Congress was declared open on the 25th of May, 2013 by the Honourable Minister for Youth Development at the Aminu Isah Kotangora Hall. Sequel to the convergence and the opening ceremony, the Congress proper slated for the 25th of May, 2013 at the Aminu Isah Kotangora Art complex, in anticipation of the business session and elections at the congress never took place and delegates retired to their various Hotels till the next day.

On the 26th of May, 2013, Delegates for the Congress were screened at the IBB Square Markudi before been conveyed in the Council’s Bus to the Venue of the Congress proper.

The list of qualified candidates was pasted by the Electoral committee at both the IBB Square where delegates were screened and also at the venue of the Congress proper; while uncleared aspirants were given an opportunity to appeal with documentary evidences.

After the window period for appeal, those with genuine reasons were eventually cleared and the electoral committee immediately went and re printed the ballot papers to accommodate the newly cleared candidates. However, few hours after the convergence, intelligence reports that got to the Committee signified an unfavorable security situation.

We waited patiently for the NTC to procedurally call the congress to order and thus commence the congress business but alas that never happened.

It is important to mention that it is not the constitutional responsibility of the Electoral committee to call the congress to order but the responsibility of the National Executive Committee (NEC) but in this case National Transition Committee (NTC). The Electoral committee’s job starts when the job of NTC/NEC ends, that is, after the committee must have being dissolved. After several hours of waiting to ensure the coast had cleared to enable the electoral committee to move into the hall, this never happened and it became necessary to take a decision in this critical hour and the decision that was bestowed by the situation on the Electoral Committee in view of the tensed situation in the hall, coupled with the unfavorable security report considering our critical assignment and sensitivity of the electoral materials in our possession, we had to re strategized for safe custody and maximum protection of the electoral materials which up till now is intact and not a single one had been used. We give glory to God that this prevented any unwholesome situation as no election took place at Matkurdi, Benue State. Surprisingly, a group of Youth led by one Yakubu Shendam criminally declared themselves purportedly claiming to have been elected in an inconclusive congress, when there was no election and we wondered which electoral committee conducted the election and definitely not us.

 

Submission

As we await a new date for the Congress, while some of us, as past leaders will be playing a crucial and strategic role in a coordinated and syndicated manner towards the enthronement of genuine democracy in NYCN, in accordance with the international standard, we solicit for the understanding and cooperation of all as we remain committed to justice and unity. We therefore appeal to all delegates, members of the National Youth Council, other Stakeholders and indeed Nigerian Youth to be calm while we salute you for resisting un-constitutionality.We strongly hope that within the next few weeks by the special grace of God solution would be proffered to the lingering crisis.
 

The prevailing circumstances presented an opportunity to us all, to once and for all carry out a through sanitization exercise and uncompromising compliance with the constitution of NYCN, for the Council has lost her glory and had completely departed from the norms and tenets laid by the founding fathers and past leaders. For avoidance of doubt and for the purpose of clarity, we hereby once again state UNARGUABLY that no election took place in Markurdi and all the electoral materials in possession of the electoral committee remain intact, untouched and unused.We are unadulterated and uncompromisingly committed to the truth and giving the required support and providing coordinated and directional leadership to the committed youth towards ensuring the enthronement of genuine democratization process in the National Youth Council of Nigeria, by the special grace of God we will not fail nor falter.

 

Enough is enough; NYCN must regain her lost glory.

Thank you and God Bless.

 

JERRY ONYEMACHI SANUSI MUSA GUSAU

South East Representative North West Representative

08038005327 08065696301

 

DYNAMITE OLUSEGUN EWEDEMI

South West Representative

SECRETARY Electoral Committee

08081764418, 07033195757.

Ref: Electoral Committee (ELECO), Makurdi 2013 Congress