The Abia State Chairman, National Youth Council of Nigeria, Comrade Smith Sylvanus has called on Abia youths to shun violence and destruction of public property but rather conduct themselves peacefully as they go about electing who leads them in the grassroots.
Comrade Sylvanus made the call in a news conference in view of Friday’s LG election in Abia State, advised them to see the election as a process of electing their new leadership by maximizing the opportunity to elect who leads them.
He observed that since majority of the candidates standing in for the election across party lines are youths, it is in their best interest to go about the process peacefully and elect their own into office.
“From what I’ve seen a lot of them are Candidates for the councillorship, a lot of women, Youths so many. I think Abia youths need to come out en mass and vote for their own. So that when these people are being sworn-in, they will see their mandate as the youth mandate,” he said.
The Abia NYCN Chairman commended the State Governor Dr Okezie Ikpeazu for deeming it fit to approve the conduct of the election, noting that by so doing, the Governor was passing a message of development of the Local Government Areas and enjoined Abia youths to accord him their maximum support.
According to him, it would be an effort in futility for the youths who are the leaders of the now, to engage in any kinds of violence in the event that their preferred candidate loses the election insisting that any destruction of property such as burning down Council headquarters would be at the detriments of the people as funds meant for development would be redirected to rebuilding of destroyed properties.
Sylvanus advised would-be winners of the election to be magnanimous in victory while those who might not win should show sportsmanship even in defeat.