A group of youths from the North East zone has vowed to resist attempts by a few selfish political elites in the region to scuttle the confirmation of the newly appointed board of the North East Development Commission (NEDC), especially that of its managing director and other appointees.
The group operating under the aegis of the North Eastern Youths Advocacy for Peace and Development (NEYAPAD), in a statement jointly signed by its national leadership comprising Alhaji Safiyanu Ya’u, Hon Abner Shittu, Hon Tukura Kwayi, Engr Suleiman Bakafada and Ambassador Salahuddeen Shuaibu in Gombe State, said the plot was not only unacceptable but a coup against Nigerian youths.
Ya’u said having followed the antecedents of Engr Hashidu from his days at the Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) and until recently at the Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC), “we are convinced that the accomplished technocrat-turned public servant has the required skills and the know-how to drive the efforts to restore the lost glory of the beleaguered North East sub-region.”
He praised the executive director of humanitarian affairs of the commission, Hajiya Suwaiba Baba, who he noted is a worthy ambassador of the women folk from Taraba State and expressed optimism that the service-oriented amazon would not falter in her new assignment.
While reaffirming its support for the new NEDC management team, NEYAPAD said the new management composition comprises some of the best brains in Nigeria’s private and public sectors.
The group vowed to activate its affiliate bodies which include the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) to resist any politician or group of politicians in the sub-region and urged the Senate not to allow itself to be involved in the political war of any politician or group.
The apex youth organisation dedicated to the peace and development of the geo-political zone reiterated its commitment to the growth, stability, prosperity, and peace of the sub-region calling on the political leaders not to involve themselves in acts and conducts that are inimical to the development of the society.
It urged all aggrieved individuals to sheath their swords and give these energetic young men the chance to display their potential which will propel the region from its ravaged status to a revived and developed region that will not only reunite displaced persons but attract investors from the rest of the world.