Youths have once again been urged to shun violence and vote wisely at the forthcoming 2023 general elections.
This call was made by the President Igbo Youths Assembly Worldwide, Honorable CASMIR IREKAMBA when he featured at an interactive session program on Alpha Radio 106.5 FM titled POLITICAL HEAT, hosted by Emmanuel Asiegbunam (Mr E on the Mic)
X-raying the topic “Can the Youth Make or Mar the 2023 General Elections?”, Honorable Irekamba stressed that the youth have the power to make or mar the election and determine the winner by virtue of their population.
Honorable Irekamba elucidated that the INEC recently confirmed that out of 9.5 million Nigerians that registered during the recently concluded Continuous Voters Registration exercise, 76% (approximately 7.2 million) are between the ages of 18 to 34. Also according to INEC, at the 2019 election, 51% out of the 84 million eligible voters (approximately 43 million) are youths.
Putting the two figures together, he concluded that youths have an estimated 51 million voters out of the 93.5m registered voters in Nigeria as announced by INEC. He therefore urged the youths to take advantage of this sheer overwhelming population and determine the course of the 2023 general elections.
IYA Worldwide, President General, Honorable Irekamba decried the voters apathy in amongst youths in the past but expressed excitement that the ongoing political experiment witnessed a renewed and revived interest in politics and voting by the youths.
He further advised youths to sustain the tempo by going to collect their Permanent Voters Cards (PVC) and coming out on election day to vote and defend their votes. He assured Nigerians that this time around, unlike in the past, that the votes will truly count, all thanks to the BVAS technology and the New Electoral Law
Responding to questions from callers on what the Igbo Youths Assembly Worldwide was doing to curtail violence and other vices, Honorable Irekamba revealed that the organization which is a global alliance of youths of Igbo extraction, is embarking on sensitization campaigns via the media on this and also collaborating with relevant stakeholders like the Security agencies and traditional, religious and educational institutions on ways to prevent youths from engaging in vices and contributing positively to the development of the country.
He further called on affluent Igbo men and women all over the world to come home and help develop the Igbo nation rather than concentrating their investments outside .
