Ahead of the presidential convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC) where President Bola Tinubu will be formally endorsed as the party presidential candidate, Kogi youths from the three senatorial districts in the North Central state stormed the party national secretariat on Monday.

Accompanied by the State governor, Usman Ododo, the Kogi youths presented a cheque of N100m to the party national chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda as payment fee for Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms.

Addressing journalists, the party national chairman who said he was impressed with the gesture said the youths told him that their move was a reward for landmark achievements of President Tinubu, particularly in the area of youth empowerment, engagement and remarkable inclusion of citizens of Kogi State in his administration.

He said: “Let me thank you, gentlemen of the press. Today is one of the happiest moments in this party, that we are seeing young men, youths from the state taking decisive action.

“Not to ask for what the Government or the President will do for them, but they are asking what they can do to support Mr President, like he will return in 2027 and do much more for their people. They listed their reasons and they gave valid reasons why they want Mr President to come back. They said the economy has improved and all indices are looking green and positive.

“They said Mr President is tackling insecurity in their state along with Mr Governor and the pockets of the people disturbing them within the communities.

“Mr President has sent military men and Mr Governor has provided the enabling environment by providing supporting devices for the military to tackle them.

“They said Mr President has given them appointments, some include the Chief of Army Staff, the National Chairman and several other appointments.

“They also said that Mr Governor has done excellently, very well in terms of infrastructure. He has connected roads, he has done a cultural program. I have seen some of them on the Television program that he has done.

“He has empowered the youths and he has provided leadership for young people. We keep on saying that the youths are the leaders of tomorrow. Mr Ododo and Mr President, the two of them are saying that the youths are the leaders of today.

“We have seen it by the appointments he has made, a lot of young people in governance. You can see it in the party. I had the opportunity of being the youngest National Party Chairman by Mr President during his time.“You can see a lot of young people being appointed by Mr President as CEOs in different capacities. That’s why they have donated the sum of 100 million Naira to Mr President for him to procure his nomination form and expression of interest form. To me, I told them that all Nigerians, all the youths across the country, all of us the party members and especially National Working Committee members, we are proud of Kogi youths.

“I want to thank you for the support you have given Mr President. To me, this is the first time in the history of Nigeria that the youths are coming in. They are not saying that take us to Mr President, maybe give us something, give us an appointment or attend to us.

“But they are saying that we don’t want to see Mr President but we want to buy the form for him. That’s unique. You are a torchlight.

“You are a pillar. You are an example to all the youths of Nigeria. And we are proud and I’m also proud that these youths are members of my party.

“So we have both the cash in our accounts and we also have the dummy. These are the drafts of the 100 million Naira that is connected to this dummy. So this is the dummy. But this is the real cash. This is not a promissory note. This is a commitment.”

The APC chairman declared that with the gesture from Kogi youths, payment for nomination form for President Tinubu is now foreclosed.

“This is cash they have given to the party for Mr President. This is the second group of people coming in to make a commitment. The first group made a commitment but they have not paid.

“But these people, they didn’t even make a commitment. They came with both the cash and the commitment at the same time. So we thank the youth from Kogi.”

In his remarks, Governor Ododo restated his support for President Tinubu whom he described as “a sincere father that is leading from the front most sincerely. “We continue to appreciate Mr. President for all that he’s doing for us as a country, as a people.

“Most especially my own constituency, the young and the youth that comprise of men and women. In the history of this country, no government has ever given the youth a space as much as Mr. President has done right now, of which I am a beneficiary as we speak.” (Nigerian Tribune)