As part of his efforts to ensure the sustainability of the LMI programme, Mr Sulaiman, a professor, said appropriate steps are being taken under the leadership of the national assembly to secure dedicated funding for it.
The Minister of Youth Development, Jamila Ibrahim, has said that more Nigerian youth were elected into the state and national assemblies in the 2023 general elections compared to 2019.
Elections into the state assemblies across the federation and the National Assembly were held in March and February respectively.
The minister was speaking on Thursday during the graduation ceremony of the second cohort of the Legislative Mentoring Initiative(LMI).
The LMI is a mentorship programme kickstarted by the immediate past Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, who's now the chief of staff to President Bola Tinubu.
The programme, now in its second phase and handled exclusively by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies(NILDS), is meant to equip the participants with relevant legislative capabilities and to expose them to essential governance skills that will enable them to function effectively in the public governance sector whenever they have the opportunity to do so.
Speaking during the graduation ceremony in Abuja, Ms Ibrahim said young politicians produced significant upsets and unseated incumbents in the 2023 elections.
According to a report by Yiaga Africa, the minister said, youth representation in the legislature improved slightly.
"Compared to the 2015 and 2019 elections, the 2023 elections marked a notable increase in the representation of young people in both the National and State Houses of Assemblies. In the House of Representatives, youth representation rose from 3 % in 2019 to 3.92%, signifying a 0.9% increase.
"Similarly, there was a 0.3% increase at the state level, from 8.9% to 9.2% in youth representation in state assemblies. Notably, individuals between the ages of 25 and 35 secured 14 out of the 360 seats in the House of Representatives and 92 out of 993 constituency seats in sub-national legislative houses, she said.
The minister further said "The 2023 elections witnessed historic victories on two fronts: First, two individuals under the age of 29 secured seats in the National Assembly. Second, young female legislators
achieved unprecedented success in legislative elections. Four female legislators under the age of 35 secured seats in three state assemblies-Delta, Lagos, and Kwara-with Kwara state boasting the highest number of young female legislators.
"Remarkably, the youngest elected female legislator, age 26, hails from Kwara State. This marks the first instance in the 25-year history of Nigeria's democratic journey where voters elected four young female legislators and candidates below 30 to the National and State Assemblies."
All of the foregoing, the minister remarked, symbolises resilience, resistance, and the courage of young people in reshaping the power dynamics in democratic politics as they exemplify the possibilities that arise when the political landscape is broadened through constitutional and policy reforms, allowing new voices to emerge
Ms Ibrahim said that her ministry is dedicated to developing programmes and initiatives that empower the youth to take charge of their destinies.
In his remarks, the founder of the initiative, Mr Gbajabiamila, congratulated the 45 graduates selected from the 36 States of the federation and the FCT on their successful completion of the programme and thanked them for believing enough in the vision of the LMI to apply and stay the course.
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"Go forth and succeed," Mr Gbajabiamila charged the new fellows.
Meanwhile, in his opening remarks during the ceremony, the Director General of NILDS, Abubakar Sulaiman, reiterated the earlier commitment of the institute to enrol the three best fellows of the programme into the institute's Legislative Drafting Internship Programme and other opportunities.
As part of his efforts to ensure the sustainability of the LMI programme, Mr Sulaiman, a professor, said appropriate steps are being taken under the leadership of the National Assembly to secure dedicated funding for it.
