Ahmed Olajide Oseni, director general of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Youth Orientation Network (BATYON), a group in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, has said that the track record and experience of Tinubu, the party’s presidential candidate put him ahead of other candidates in the 2023 presidential election.
Oseni stated this on Wednesday at the group’s inaugural conference which was held at the LCCI conference centre, Alausa, Ikeja.
The conference had the theme: Nigeria’s Democracy, Identity and Power: Building a Youth-Centric Future.
He added that negative comments about the APC presidential candidate were not true and only met to tarnish his image ahead of next year’s presidential election.
“The three founding members of what we now call BATYON came together; to decide on what we could do to give better orientation to the youths about our country.
So, we were more baffled that many, especially in Lagos and its suburbs, used the opportunity to finger Bola Tinubu as a culprit”, Oseni said.
Guest speaker at the event, Christopher Godwin Akaba, senior special assistant to the governor of Borno State on jobs creation and youth empowerment, said the energy and enthusiasm of the youths was capable of bringing the social reform that Nigerians seek, stressing that any nation that looks down on her youths is bound to fail.
Akaba, noted that the nation requires active youth participation in the electoral process to achieve the desired goals, which can help in taking the country towards progress.
According to him, “It is a well-known truism that the youths of any country are its greatest asset. They are the hope of our future and the role of youths in nation-building cannot be overemphasised.
“So to speak, the intelligence and work of the youth will take the country on the pathway of success. They are the building blocks of any country. Our energy and enthusiasm is capable of bringing the social reform that we seek in our society. Any nation that looks down on her youths is bound to fail”.
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He added that he was convinced that the candidacy of Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his running mate, Kashim Shettima, would usher in the desired political condition that the country needs for its rapid socio-economic growth and development.
“I unhesitatingly accepted the offer to speak today. This is because of my unadulterated conviction that Bola Ahmed Tinubu Presidency in combination with my political mentor, Kashim Shettima as his running mate, would usher in the desired political climate that the country needs for its rapid socio-economic growth and development”, he stressed.
Speaking earlier, in his welcome address, Tomisin Adebukola, the national secretary of BATYON, said the group was set up to promote the presidential bid of the APC candidate ahead of next year’s presidential election.
She said the group has members across the thirty-six states in the country that are committed and ready to work round the clock towards actualising the presidential dream of Tinubu.
“The group has members across the country, the thirty-six states, members who are committed and ready to work.
“We have no doubt that Tinubu and the APC will win next year’s presidential election,” Adebukola said.
