President Muhammadu Buhari in the year 2018, signed the Age Reduction Bill, popularly known as Not Too Young To Run bill into law to enable the young and vibrant population in Nigeria participate in governance.
Given the enthusiasm and willingness of the youths to participate in politics and contribute to national development, the age barrier to contest certain political offices in the country was removed and since then more and more youths have come out to prove that they can equally contribute to nation building by participating in politics.
This probably explains why Nigeria has seen more youths contesting and winning elections for various political positions in the country especially in the 2023 elections.
The bulk of those who won elections to the House of Representatives in the last elections are first timers with the bulk of them being young people with the youngest being 28 years old.
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As the House of Representatives is required to choose its leaders before inauguration in June, there are strong agitations that since majority of the lawmakers are vibrant youths that the leadership of the 10th House should be drawn from amongst them.
Among those who have indicated interest in vying for the Speakership of the House of Representatives, is Hon. Yusuf Adamu Gagdi who represents Pankshin/kanam/Kanke Federal Constituency of Plateau State.
At 42, Gagdi has been an inspiration to youths due to his antecedents in politics where he contested and won the House of Assembly seat in Plateau State at the age of 34 and became the Deputy Speaker of the House.
By the time he was 38 he contested for the House of Representatives seat and defeated an incumbent to become one of the youngest members in the 9th Assembly.
Due to his energy and resourcefulness, he was given the chairman of House Committee on Navy even as a first termer and through his legislative intervention contributed in supporting the armed forces for a more secured Nigeria.
Now that he is a ranking member of the House of Representatives by virtue of his coming to the House a second term, the youths in the House are pushing for his candidacy as Speaker because he can easily relate with them and lead the House with the zest and vibrancy required.
Many posit that if energy, tact and wisdom are required then Gagdi should be given a chance more so as the odds favour the North-central for the Speaker position.
His penchant for protecting and defending even the elderly stood out when he moved a motion against the unsubstantiated and false allegations of corruption against General Yakubu Gowon, former Head of State of Nigeria by a member of UK Parliament.
When the allegation was made by a UK parliamentarian, Gagdi felt that the former Head of State, who hails from his constituency has been unduly castigated and he swiftly rose to counter it to the admiration of all.
He has done more for citizens of his constituency and Nigeria through the sponsorship of no less than 10 number of bills and various motions.
The lawmaker for instance called attention on the need for urgent investigation into non-remittance of contribution by employers, delay or non payment of entitlements to pensioners by PFAs and non-adherence to the provisions of the Pension Reform Act 2014 by relevant authorities in order to alleviate the suffering of those who has given their best in their prime.
He has equally called on the federal government to reconsider its security strategies with a view to finding a lasting solution to the various dimensions of the security challenges in Nigeria and moved a motion on the need to investigate excess and illegal charges on the House of Representatives accounts held at various banks in Nigeria.
The non-inclusion of waste management and disposal in the NLNG train 7 project also attracted his attention and he quickly called for investigation into the circumstances leading to that.
As a lawmaker, Gagdi has been supportive of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila who he calls his mentor and has relates very well with other members and earned their respect and has within just four years in the House become one of the known faces in the 9th Assembly with his aggressive pursuit of his legislative duties and keen interest in making laws for good governance of Nigeria.
No doubt, he has impacted positively on the lives of his people through quality representation and the sponsorship of projects that have direct bearing on constituents with many projects spanning all sectors like rural electrification, education, critical Infrastructure and health care.
He is strong pillar for the APC in Plateau State since he defeated an incumbent of the then ruling party in Plateau and has expanded the scope of acceptability for the party in the state.
The 10th House of Representatives therefore deserves a leader with such foresight, vibrancy and vision due to the enormous task required in nation building as a new administration to be led by Bola Ahmed Tinubu is inaugurated on May 29.
Kutigi wrote from Sir Kensington Adebutu Street, Guzape, Abuja
