Ahead of his inauguration on May 29, 2023, representatives of youth groups have called on the president-elect Asiwaju Bola Are Tinubu, to consider the national president of Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), Alhaji Yerima Shettima, as one of his cabinet members.
The groups said the call became imperative considering the role Shettima had continued to play in stabilising youth activities, promoting peace and social justice, not only in the North but in all the geopolitical zones of Nigeria.
While congratulating Tinubu for winning the presidential election, the All Progressives Congress (APC), the youth groups who were represented by Samuel Garry, Ahmed Mohammed Rufai and Christiana Nicholas under the umbrella of Nigeria Youth for Peace and Social Justice Forum (NYPSJF).
The youth groups said they found it expedient to bring Alhaji Yerima Shettima to the fore and expose his salient but noble attributes to the world, so that it would attract the attention of the President elect who had emphasised on competence and youth inclusiveness in his cabinet and not mediocrity in appointments.
“Although we do not sought for Yerima Shettima’s consent before clamouring for him to be appointed as Minister in his forthcoming cabinet to represent the youths, we felt it behoves on us to search for a youth leader with impeccable credentials and who enjoys a lot of goodwill from across the divides, to be part of the incoming administration,” they said.
The youth groups representatives, in a statement made available to journalists yesterday, recalled that for over a decade, Yerima Shettima was not only a galvanising factor for youth activism with direct impact on youth development and education; protection of human rights and from abuse, but had continuously supported hundreds of youths, religion and tribe notwithstanding in their quest for self-development through education and trade.
“Yerima Shettima as the minister would bring the desired unity in an important segment of the Nigerian population. He is well known in the promotion of political activities that encourages talents of youths in their pathways to professionalism in different endeavours.
