NGO, FORD Foundation, Train 100 Aspiring Youths Ahead of 2019 Elections
A youth organisation, the Youngsters Development Initiative (YDI), has organised a capacity building workshop for young Nigerians eyeing various elective positions in the 2019 general elections.
One hundred aspiring youths drawn from the North Central geo-political zone are currently participating in the programme tagged, “Young Aspirants Leadership Fellowship (YALF)’’ in Abuja.
The YDI, also known as the Youngsters Foundation, is organising the workshop with the support of FORD Foundation.
The Executive Director, YDI, Mr. Kingsley Bangwell, told newsmen on the sidelines of the four-day forum on Friday that YALF was aimed ultimately at putting young people in power in 2019.
Bangwell explained that the programme was in response to the question of lack of capacity and experience dogging the growing aspiration among young people to lead the country.
“The Young Aspirants Leadership Fellowship is a non-partisan platform that is building the capacity and preparing young people that want to run for election in 2019.
“We are looking at how to set up a campaign team, brand your message, engage the electorate; how to go to the grassroots, how to raise funds, and how to engage at the party level, navigate the interesting waters of party primaries.
“Those are the basic things we are looking at through this programme,’’ he said.
Bangwell said YALF was an elaborate and intensive programme that would see participants through the different stages of the electoral process.
According to him, participants who are able to buy party forms would return for a follow-up capacity building session to prepare them for primaries.
Those that would scale through their party primaries, he explained, would be given further training on how to engage the media, electorate and other stakeholders in the general elections.
Beyond that, the YDI leader added that a resource/call centre would be created where young people could call in toll-free to share their experiences about running for office.
Some of the participants, including Mr. Samuel Agada, a House of Assembly aspirant in Benue, described the programme as an eye opener and thanked YDI and the FORD Foundation for the opportunity.
(NAN)
