Officials and members of the Center For Strategic Leadership and Youth Orientation (CENSTLEYO) on Tuesday had an interactive session with the leadership of Peoples Democratic Party PDP in Anambra State.
The political engagement took place at the PDP Secretariat, Udoka Housing Estate, Awka.
The Deputy Coordinator of CENSTLEYO in the state, Ebere Adinnu while introducing the organization said that they are in the PDP office to encourage the leadership of the party to create platform for youths to interact freely with political party leadership and as well as to extract commitment from party leaders to prioritize quality in choice of candidate over highest bidder syndrome.
Also, the Anambra State coordinator, Comrade Okwudili Nwadiogbu said that the political climate in Nigeria today has technically knocked out the youths especially as it regards the cost of obtaining expression of interest and nomination form as well as other logistics.
The development he said has made the political space too expensive for the youths most of who are beginners and make same exclusive preserve of the elites.
The Founder and Chief Executive Officer CEO of CENSTLEYO Mr Imah Felix Emeka said that his group which is functional in all the thirty six states of the federation and Federal Capital Territory Abuja is fully prepared to galvanize the youths to take their place of responsibility in governance.
He intimated the PDP leadership that CENSTLEYO has a political engagement scheduled for April 30th in which the leadership and governorship aspirants of all the political parties are expected to attend.
The National Program Director of CENSTLEYO, Comrade Uche Madubuko who presented the group’s brief to the PDP leadership said that majority of youths in the state represent a demonstration of wholesome desire of the political parties to activate a new drive of maintaining close contact with wider stakeholders with a view of expanding consultations geared toward using leadership emergence as a tool to meet expected development of the state.
“Primarily, the objectives of our engagement with political parties is to re-establish the value of political parties in driving state development, increase understanding of the concept of right leadership for right development.
“We advocate prioritized discussion on issue based politics against money politics in the next Anambra state governorship election. We want political parties to to consider the youth observed evidence as basis for political parties’ standard in making choices and setting criteria.” Uche Madubuko said.
The National Program Director of CENSTLEYO said that the group has discovered that development in Anambra state requires a deep understanding and expansive knowledge of the gaps among political parties leadership in the state.
He expressed shock that in every elections in the state, voters apathy are always observed as less than half of the registered voters normally vote on election days, CENSTLEYO according to him is committed to addressing the anomaly.
Earlier in his welcome address, the chairman of PDP in Anambra state, Hon Ndubuisi Nwobu flanked by his members of executive said that his party is open to partner with Governmental and Non Governmental organizations that are forward looking in the attempt to better Anambra state in particular and the society in general.
Hon Nwobu said that he is fully aware that CENSTLEYO is passionately committed to positive engagement of the youths noting that PDP is ready to partner with the youth group.
The PDP chairman however tasked CENSTLEYO to intensify reorientation of the youths especially those who are already negatively inclined about electoral process even as he urged Anambra people to look beyond the campaign promises of aspirants and scrutinize their activities before election period.