EXCLUSIVE | Meet Nigerian Lawmakers Who Terminated #NotTooYoungToRun Bill [FULL LIST]

Reports from the just concluded joint retreat on Constitution Review held in Intercontinental Hotel, Lagos indicates that the Senate and House Committee on Constitution Review have terminated the Not Too Young To Run bill, online media SaharaReporters reported on Sunday.

The bill, though passed at 1st and 2nd readings, was not included in the final report that was considered and adopted by the lawmakers at the Lagos retreat which held on 14 – 15 July 2017.

The implication of the removal of the bill in the final report simply means that the bill will not be brought before the floor of both houses of the National Assembly for Nigerian lawmakers to debate and make their final decision on the bill, thereby truncating the full legislative process the bill rightly deserves.

The lawmakers, numbering 46 Senators and 49 House of Reps members (fully listed here) as well as the Speakers of the 36 States House of Assembly unilaterally decided the fate of the bill at the level of their Constitution Review Committee joint retreat held in Lagos.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu had publicly declared support for the bill.

Over 25 State Houses of Assembly have publicly declared support and endorsed the bill following series of engagements with young people at the state level. This is the only bill with maximum support of the vast youth population in Nigeria.

Samson Itodo, a frontline electoral reforms and youth advocate told SIGNAL in July 2017 that The #NotTooYoungToRun Campaign had become a global campaign.

“The #NotTooYoungToRun Campaign is a movement of over 80 youth civil society organizations working together to promote the passage of legislation that reduces the age limit for contesting elections in Nigeria. It is important to highlight the fact that that the campaign is now a global campaign. Countries of the world have risen to accept that reality that young people are beyond statistics. They are so important for development. Any society that desires to succeed must empower, engage and support young people”, Itodo said.

Below is the list of Senators and House of Reps Members (obtained by SIGNAL), who terminated the bill which seeks to open up the space for youth inclusion in politics and governance.

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