NYCN Chairman in Imo, Ezinwanne Udoka, said this while speaking with newsmen in Owerri, on Thursday, as part of activities marking the International Youth Day 2022.

The theme of the 2022 International Youth Day is, “Inter-generational Solidarity: Creating a World for all Ages”.

NYCN who commended political parties for reducing the prices of nomination forms for youths aspiring to elective positions called on Government to further prevail on political parties to provide more opportunities for youths.

The youth group said the ‘ Not Too Young To Run’ law which served as a morale booster for the youths would need some sensitisation to carry the youths along, especially those in rural areas.

The group added that youth involvement in politics would help stem the tide of restiveness and violent crimes.

It harped on the need for effective implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This, he said, would go a long way to positively impact the lives of people, especially youths, in line with the vision of the United Nations targeted at ending poverty and vulnerability across the world by 2030.

“When youths are empowered through politics, governance, as well as employed to work in government establishments, youth restiveness, crimes and insecurity would reduce minimally in the country.

“Today, there are 1.2 billion young people aged 15 to 24 years – accounting for 16% of the global population. This number of youths if not properly taken care of will be a time bomb waiting to explode.

” This underscores the need for proper integration of youths into the mainstream of governance to enable them contribute their quota to decision making with the aim of creating sustainable development and empowerment of the all-important populace in line with the SD Goals “, he said.

According to the report, the national average of women’s political participation in Nigeria remain at 6.7 percent in elective and appointive positions, which it said, is far below the global average of 22.5 per cent, Africa regional average of 23.4 percent and West African Sub Regional Average of 15 percent.

Explaining why Nigeria ranked low, the report said, “The under representation of women in political participation gained root due to the patriarchal practice inherent in our society, much of which were obvious from pre-colonial era till date. Given the several talks, initiatives and policy directions of government, one would expect greater progress in Nigeria’s quest for increased women’s political participation.”

The report added that Nigeria ranked 181 of 193 countries on the Gender Equality Index, for countries with low women representation in governance.

It stated: “The country currently, ranks 181 of 193 countries on the Gender Equality Index for reasons such as poor resource allocation in the economic and social sectors, frequent conflicts, forced displacements and inadequate inclusion of women and girls’ perspectives in policy-making decisions.

“Other reasons include low representation of women in governance and politics; and inadequate legal framework and limited capacity to support women’s empowerment and equality efforts, (UN Women, 2020).

“Despite all efforts to promote the contribution of women in the domain of politics and decision making, women have continued to record low representation at all tiers and levels of governance although they constitute almost half of the electorate.

“Findings reveal that males constituted 94.2 per cent of the members of the National Assembly in the periods from 1999-2015 (on average) while female participation remained low at 5.8 percent (National Bureau of Statistics, 2019).”

Fadah stated this on Tuesday during the swearing-in ceremony of the 2022 Batch ‘B’ Stream l youth corps members posted to Kogi at the NYSC Orientation Camp in Asaya in Kabba Local Government Area.

Represented by the NYSC Coordinator in Kogi, Mofoluwasho Williams, the director-general said “it is an offence for youth corps members to engage in partisan politics, especially during election.”

Fadah gave the advice on Tuesday during the swearing-in ceremony of the 2022 Batch ‘B’ Stream l youth corps members posted to Kogi at the NYSC Orientation Camp in Asaya in Kabba Local Government Area.

Represented by the NYSC Coordinator in Kogi, Mofoluwasho Williams, the director-general said “it is an offence for youth corps members to engage in partisan politics, especially during election.”

He said the Federal Government and the people of Nigeria have so much trust and confidence in youth corps members, hence their engagement as ad hoc staff during elections.

He added that “for Nigerians to continue to trust us, youth corps members must remain non-partisan at all times.”

He said the Federal Government and the people of Nigeria have so much trust and confidence in youth corps members, hence their engagement as ad hoc staff during elections.

He added that “for Nigerians to continue to trust us, youth corps members must remain non-partisan at all times.”

He advised the youth corps members to deploy their energy and time for the promotion of national unity and development and sustain high level of discipline and enthusiasm.

INEC Director of Publicity and Voter Education, Mr Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, made this commitment at the “review of the 2019 general election from a gender perspective’’ held on Thursday in Abuja, including the INEC Desk Officers from the 36 states and the FCT in collaboration with the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES).

Osaze-Uzzi said that such action was important in order to address the poor participation of women in elections and the drop in the number of women who occupy elective positions.

He said that at the level of political parties, legislature and governance, the representation of women in Nigeria government fell short of the National Gender Policy benchmark of 35 per cent and other global and regional benchmarks to which Nigeria is a signatory.

He said that INEC would continue to collaborate with development partners and stakeholders to encourage and sensitise political parties to open up to changes in party politics.

The changes he said would enhance women’s participation in the electoral process as equal partners. Osaze-Uzzi said that the implementation of the INEC Gender policy (IGP) since 2014 had continuously impacted positively and enhanced the gender responsiveness of Nigeria’s electoral process.

The director said that the commission had indeed recorded some progress in increasing and enhancing all-inclusive participation and representation of women in the electoral process.

He added that this is through its sensitisation programme at the local, state and national levels.

Source: Vanguard

The find comes after several recent fire attacks on the homeless in the city, The Los Angeles Times reported. It was unclear if the person was homeless, but the report said it was recovered at a spot in Van Nuys that is frequented by transients.

Homelessness in Los Angeles has been a top issue in the city that has attracted national attention after President Trump sent a team to take a firsthand look at the issue.

In July, Democratic Mayor Eric Garcetti issued a public invitation for the Republican president to walk the streets with him and see the suffering and squalid conditions. The mayor released a letter to Trump on Tuesday saying he looked forward to working together, but tensions between the White House and officials in heavily Democratic California were also on vivid display.

Garcetti, who said 36,000 people in the city are homeless on any given night, implied that he was ready to talk but wrote that “the federal government has woefully underfunded our housing safety net, contributing to homelessness” and slashed funding for new housing.

“We must put politics aside,” he wrote.