‘Young Reps Will Make Nigerians Proud’ ~ House C’ttee Chairman on Youth Devt., Martins Esin
•••As Gov. Umo Eno lauds young NASS members at workshop in A’Ibom
John NTEKIM
Citizens of Nigeria have been assured of impactful, robust and people-oriented legislation by the 10th National Assembly, considering the quality of young lawmakers who are now part of the federal parliament.
Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Youth Development, Rep. Martins Esin gave the assurances during the ongoing specialised Capacity-Building Workshop jointly organised for young members of the House by Yiaga Africa and the Young Parliamentarians Forum of the National Assembly.
In his goodwill message at the opening ceremony held at Four Points by Sheraton in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State on Wednesday, Rep. Esin who represents Oron/Mbo/Okobo/Udung Uko/Urueoffong Oruko Federal Constituency said, “We, the young legislators are already solidifying our presence in the House of Representatives, which is why Mr Speaker recently appointed a majority of us into strategic committees of the House.”
“Collectively, we are determined to base our legislative engagements on specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely objectives, and we are confident that we will deliver beyond expectations,” he added.
Fielding questions from newsmen after the opening ceremony, the House Committee Chairman noted that youth inclusion forms a basic part of the legislative agenda of the 10th House, considering the percentage of young people who make up the country’s population.
He further urged the public to “watch out for the performances of the young assemblymen.”
In their separate remarks, the Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Mr Samson Itodo, and the Chairman of Young Parliamentarians Forum, Hon. Kabir Tukura said the 2-day workshop was initiated to enhance the capacity of the young lawmakers, and to enable them make sound contributions to national development through lawmaking, representation and oversight functions.
The legislators however received the commendations of the Governor of Akwa Ibom, Pastor Umo Eno who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Senator Mrs. Akon Eyakenyi Ph.D, for taking up the task of nation building early in life.
Delivering the govenor’s address, Sen. Eyakenyi urged the young parliamentarians to remain conscious of the their responsibilities to their generation and Nigeria at large, adding that the large population of youth places a huge burden on governments at the state and federal levels.
The event which had over thirty young members of the 10th National Assembly drawn from various parts of the country and across political parties in attendance, also had the presence of former Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Sen. Ita Solomon Enang, Dr. Sam Oguche of the Yiaga Africa Centre for Legislative Engagement, as well as the Deputy Director (Senate), National Assembly, Dr. Bello Olatunji as resource persons, among others.
