Utomi tasks youth on voting rights

A Political Economist, Prof. Pat Utomi, on Tuesday urged Nigerian youth to take advantage of their voting rights to actualise their desired change.

Utomi, who made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, encouraged them to get their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) ahead of the 2019 general elections.

He noted that voting was the only powerful tool to effect change in government.

The political economist said that beyond agitation, youths must rise to the challenges of nation-building and governance.

According to him, the time has come for the younger generation to take vantage positions in leading political parties in the country.

”If the youths are serious about changing their position, all they need to do is to organise themselves with the technology available to them to say that the future belongs to them.

”They can also go and be part of the ongoing voter registration to get their Permanent Voter Cards to vote for the candidates of their choice. It is legal and it is your civic responsibility.

”Without the cards, you are wasting your time. If you are complaining about bad governance, I will ask you, did you get your PVC? Did you vote? Or did you stand up to protect your vote?”

Utomi advised the youths to positively engage the government, to support efforts to make Nigeria a better place to live in.

”I was already engaging the government as early as 19 years and it is well over 40 years now that I have been doing that.

”As a 21-year-old corps member working in a newspaper magazine, I caused a cabinet reshuffling through my investigative report, and at 27, I became a member of presidential advisory committee.

”I have been on the stage since then and I see no reason youths cannot follow my footsteps. The youths can have a paradigm shift from the old order if they are resolute,” he said.

Utomi said the power to change the government is now flexible with social media.

He charged the youth to get their PVCs, saying without it and their active participation, they would just be wasting their time.