…promises to prioritise Youth Development, Education, Security, and Governance
As part of engagement with constituents ahead of the 2023 General Elections, Engineer Yomi Idowu, the candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Lagos Central Senatorial District, unveiled his manifesto on Saturday, September, 2022, with a major focus on Youth Development, Education, Governance, and Security.
Engr. Idowu, while delivering his speech at a Leadership Town Hall Meeting organized by Campaign for Transformative Governance (CFTG) at Marquee Hall of the National Arts Theatre, Iganmu in Lagos, stressed the urgent need to provide effective oversight functions, make relevant laws, and represent the interest of the constituents in Lagos Central as a way to stimulate the delivery of good governance.
In his speech tagged; “The 2023 General Elections and The Quest for People Oriented Public Service – Focused Governance -Any Hope?”, the ADC candidate referred to the Endsars protest as a major event that spurred his intention to run for the Senate seat and highlighted his numerous plans for youth empowerment and employment.
“Frankly speaking, Nigeria is sitting on a keg of gunpowder considering the level to which our youths have been pushed to the wall, and I know we can do a whole lot better. As the incumbent Chairman of the Lekki 1 Residents Association (LERA), I have related a lot with the youths in the past 2 years and this has enabled me to witness first-hand the damage poor governance has done to this age grade which ought to be the engine room of development of the society.
“Many of our youth in the Lagos Central constituency are involved in different vices such as gambling, immorality, thuggery for the politicians, out of despair and hopelessness. They have even given up on formal education. It is for this reason that I stand before this civic audience as ADC Senatorial Candidate for Lagos Central District, with a golden opportunity to change the narrative of hopelessness and neglect among this demographic in our very important senatorial district,” he said.
While lamenting the sad development in the education sector, he assured the constituents of his plans to collaborate with other legislators to ensure that 26 percent of budgetary allocation to education, as recommended by the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) is duly implemented.
“In my manifesto, I have outlined the following to effectively bring the youth to a certain level of development. I will encourage youths to embrace Formal Education as a major recipe for positive human development by establishing functional Tutorials for Basic & Adult Education in each of The Five Local Government Areas making up the Senatorial District.
“I will Give back a percentage of my Salary to promote lucrative Skill Acquisition Training for Unemployed Graduates and School Dropouts. We are already doing this in the LGAs of our District.
“If elected, I will also initiate and establish an Investment Centre where youth with good ideas, business plans, and tangible projects will be financed. Not also forgetting to create Synergy among the Federal Institute of Industrial Research – Oshodi (FIIRO), Raw Materials Institute (RMI), and BOT to develope Small and Medium Scale Industries for our Youths in the constituency.”
Adding to these laudable ideas, Engr. Idowu mentioned that he will sponsor a Bill to establish Youth Centres in each Senatorial District of the Federation. “These Youth Centres will have; Classes, Sports Facilities, Recording Studios, IT Equipment, a Lounge, and other recreational facilities.
He also vowed to advocate for 50 percent of National Assembly Allowance for the upgrade of our Colleges of Education, while pushing for restructuring along lines of regional Governance, and uniformity in cut-off marks for admission into federal and state universities.
In his response to the concerns of constituents on the high cost of governance, he promised to push for a return to regional government as a way out of the wasteful cost of governance.
He ended by saying that he is fully committed to achieving all the plans stated above when he emerges as Senator, assuring constituents of due representation.
