Your Excellency Sir,
Governor Seyi Makinde,
The Executive Governor,
Oyo State,
Ibadan.
I write to you on behalf of members of the Oyo State Youth Parliament. I feel honoured and considered myself privileged to be in the best position to do this. Your immense contribution towards the development of the state for the betterment of the citizens can not be overlooked without being emphasized on. You are a motive of New Dawn, you preached New Dawn and we accepted New Dawn.
To start with, accept my hearty congratulations on an Award of Empathy in Leadership received from Akinjide Adeosun Foundation – it is a true reflection of your personality.
Introduction
The Oyo State Youth Parliament is the state leadership and legislative training ground for young people of Oyo State. It is one of the State Youth Parliaments established by the Constitution of the Nigerian Youth Parliament (under the supervision of Ministry of Youth and Sports and National Assembly respectively) which endows it with the responsibility of preparing Nigerian youth in Oyo State, for participation in decision-making, inculcating in them leadership qualities for governance and public administration, as well as equipping Oyo youths adequately for future challenges in their immediate environment and the world at large. Issues that affect the youths of the state are discussed by members of the parliaments, and submissions made are forwarded, either to the executive arm of government (which may in turn send it as a bill to the assembly), or to the legislative arm (which may deliberate on the submissions and turn it into a bill)
The primary aim of the parliament is to advocate, deliberate and come up with advisory resolutions on matters affecting youth and their contemporary challenges in our dear State and the Nation at large. It is also to strengthen the knowledge of youth on legislative procedure and leadership capacity. It is on this note, the membership of Oyo State Youth Parliament is drawn from all the 32 state constituencies of the state.
Members of the Second Assembly of Oyo State Youth Parliament received their nomination letters from the Agency for Youth Development on 31st July, 2018. However, inauguration could not hold until March, 2019.
The parliament was eventually inaugurated by Rt. Hon. Olagunju Ojo (Speaker of the 8th Assembly, Oyo State House of Assembly) in a programme coordinated by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Agency for Youth Development (AYD) respectively at the House of Chiefs, Assembly complex.
Our Issues
Immediately after our inauguration, all efforts to have a parliamentary sitting were not successful, because the Agency for Youth Development claimed that there was an embargo on the activities of the agency.
We were excited when members of the parliament were scheduled for a meeting with the Honourable Commissioner in the presence of Special Assistant on Youth and Sports, Managements of the ministry of Youth and Sports and Management of Agency for Youth Development on Friday 8th November, 2019, where it was expected that issues concerning the smooth running of the parliament would be discussed.
To our amazement, issues raised by the Honourable Commissioner, SA (Youth & Sports), Permanent Secretary (Youth & Sports) and the Acting Executive Secretary of the Agency for Youth Development was that there will be a dissolution of the parliament. The intent of the dissolution was to accommodate political interest, as the commissioner (through members of the ruling party, PDP) felt that there interests were not protected in the parliament.
The resolution of the meeting with the Honorable commissioner was that he will have to reconvey another meeting upon further consultation with some stakeholders.
Your Excellency Sir, may I inform you, that there have been rumours flying around immediately after the meeting with the commissioner, due to the fact that some high ranking officials of the People’s Democratic Party have been boasting about that the parliament MUST be dissolved.
This made us realise the rationale behind the rigidity of the Honourable Commissioner during the meeting. Consequently, we received messages on WhatsApp informing us of dissolution of the Second Assembly, an action that contradict the promise/agreement we had with the commissioner, during the meeting.
Where such is done in the world, is what I do not understand yet! How can you dissolve the assembly when we are not cubes of sugar? I have to state it categorically sir, that this purported dissolution is the first of its kind in history of Youth Parliament in the country, and at United Nation at large.
There have been instances whereby change of government/ administration occurred in states and federal level, but such action was not taken about the parliament.
The parliament is never a place for partisanship: the reason states like Gombe, Bauchi and Lagos continue to work with the already constituted youth parliament, despite change of government/administration in those states.
Also if the Federal Government looks at parliament under the lens of partisanship, the 3rd Assembly of Nigeria Youth Parliament whose nominations were done under President Goodluck Jonathan of People Democratic Party wouldn’t be inaugurated under President Mohammad Buhari of All Progressives Congress in 2015.
Youth parliament is not a youth agitating organization but a leadership training ground for youths, irrespective of political ideology or affiliation.
Your excellency sir, it will interest you to know that the current Head of Service, Alhaja Amidat Ololade Agboola was the Permanent Secretary that supervised the whole process that brought us up to the stage of our inauguration alongside Acting Executive Secretary and staffs of Agency for Youth Development.
Our Prayers:
1. An independent panel should be constituted to look thoroughly into the matter of the parliament illegal dissolution.
2.There should be a probe into the activities of the Ministry of Youth & Sport under the leadership of Mrs. Amidat Ololade Agboola (now Oyo State Head of Service), as well as the Agency for Youth Development under the leadership of the Acting Executive Secretary. We were rightly informed that a particular sum was released by the state government for the inauguration of this parliament and it was allegedly misappropriated by personnel of the Ministry and Agency.
3. Personnel of the Ministry of Youths and Sports and Agency for Youth Development should be sanctioned for inefficiency and compromising of standard for those that supervised the process, and even collected millions of naira from the state. Oyo state cannot afford to be spending on irrelevance(s). This might be an avenue for your government sir, to punish those who might have siphoned the state fund(s) and serve as deterrent for others. This will be a confirmation that you walk the talk of fighting corruption in the state.
Our Stand
Sir, members of the parliament would subject themselves to rule of law, and attend the panel of inquiry, when constituted, so that we can tell our own side of the story.
While anticipating a favorable response from you sir, accept my best regards.
Rt. Hon. Adesoji Adegoke
Speaker, Oyo State Youth Parliament
parliamentoyo@gmail.com
