Kogi West youths made up of over 20 youth associations under the aegis of Senator Smart Adeyemi Youths Vanguard have said it was sad that the revered position of a senator has been turned into a dramatic show of immaturity and exhibition of hooliganism by the current representative, Senator Dino Melaye at the floor of the red chamber.
Hundreds of youths drawn from the seven local government areas that make up Kogi West senatorial district staged a peaceful protest, urging former Senator Smart Adeyemi to represent district in 2019.
Speaking shortly after the protest march, the spokesman of the group, Barrister Yahaya Danlami Sani said the youth in the district had had several meetings where they analysed the alleged poor representation of Melaye and therefore, resolved that there was no better candidate for that position in 2019 than Adeyemi.
“Recent developments in the country especially as it affect our district made it mandatory for us to have a rethink over our current representative who sadly has derailed from the very essence of senatorial representation to a more dramatic show of immaturity and demonstration of hooliganism at the floor of the red chamber,” the group said.
According to the youth, “There is no doubt that the good people of Kogi West senatorial district have got less than they deserved as their legal entitlements from their current representative. History they say is not everything, but it is a starting point, history is a clock that people use to tell their political and cultural time of the day. It is a compass they use to find themselves on the map of human geography, it tells them where they are, but more importantly where they must be, Senator Dino Melaye has therefore, not taken us to where we must be”.
The youths’ spokesperson equally mentioned some achievements of Adeyemi while he was a senator representing the district for two tenures. The group also disclosed that Adeyemi sponsored 32 Bills and Motions while at the senate, among them was a bill establishing the National Agricultural Loan and Development Commission and the bill establishing the Abuja Geographic Information Systems.
The group also said that Adeyemi had so far surpassed any other senator in the district both in the past and present in terms of construction of physical structures and embarking on human development, having constructed over 102 projects and aided the employment of over 350 youths.
The youths urged Adeyemi, to, without further delay, declare for the Senate come 2019.
Victoria Nnakiaike, Lokoja
