Outgoing Africa Youth Parliament Speaker kicks as new one emerges

theeagleonline

Tom Agbor, the outgoing Speaker of Democracy Africa Youth Parliament Assembly, on Tuesday in Abuja kicked against violation of the House rule in electing John Agri, a Ghanaian, as its speaker.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that there was tension during the proceeding when members of the second assembly accused the Director-General of DYPA, Dr. Ifedi Okwenna, of violating the House rules.

Agbor said there were attempts to alter the rules of the parliament to elect new leadership that could be easily manipulated.

He said it was agreed that members of the second assembly who were active during proceedings could be re-nominated, adding that having forwarded 25 names to the D-G, none of them was considered.

NAN reports that about 80 youths from Africa gathered to elect the new speaker.

Okwenna, however, debunked the allegations, saying there were no anomalies in the election of the new speaker. He said all the rules of the assembly were strictly adhered in the process of the election.

He however noted that Africa as a continent had great potential and the opportunities were limitless. He said the infrastructural deficiency and rate of poverty in Africa were limiting the relationship Africans had between themselves, thereby limiting its growth and development.

According to Okwenna, technologies penetration is very slow and in spite increase in the number of formal education, quite a number of African countries still depend on aids and grants.

He said: “The challenge is very real and the youths must take this up, if we must build an Africa of the people, our greatest asset and resources.”

Prof. Greg Ibe, the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Save Democracy Africa, said he had no doubt that the youth parliament would bring a change to Africa’s growth. Ibe urged the youths to take responsibility of their own development and that of their countries and continent, adding that power was never given but always fought.

He said the “Not Too Young to Run Act”, which was signed into law recently in Nigeria, was already moving around the continent. He said: “We expect more active participation of young people in political space in their respective countries, not as thugs, but as real actors in the process.

“The youth cannot expect government to empower them, while they do the opposite by abusing themselves in various ways, including drug abuse.”