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The Young Progressives Party (YPP) has sounded a clarion call to Nigerians, declaring that the 2027 elections will not be “business as usual.” The party made the declaration at a well-attended stakeholders’ meeting in Karu, Nasarawa State, where elders, women, youth leaders, religious groups, persons with disabilities, and even members of rival political parties gathered to discuss the way forward.

The stakeholders were drawn from the thirteen Local Government Areas of the state, namely Akwanga, Awe, Doma, Karu, Keana, Keffi, Kokona, Lafia, Nasarawa, Nasarawa Eggon, Obi, Toto, and Wamba.

Representing the National Chairman of YPP, Comrade Emmanuel Bishop Amakiri, the Deputy National Technical Adviser, Engr. Promise Nwadigos, said the Nigerian youth can no longer be sidelined.

“With the beautiful faces I’ve seen here this morning, it shows that with the youth, we rise again,” he declared. “Because in the country today, we have been sidelined, we have been kept behind, and we have suffered what we don’t know. You know, year in and year out, they say we are the future leaders of tomorrow. But when it’s time to give us space at the table, they will tell us to wait. And we have waited long enough.”

Nwadigos criticised the country’s leading parties for failing the people. “APC is there today. You can see what has been going on, you can see how the economy is ‘booming,’ how an average Nigerian is smiling, and so on and so forth,” he said sarcastically. “PDP, for one or two reasons, has divided itself. Labour Party, which would have been a saviour to the nation, has been destroyed by greed and selfishness. And ADC is just a coalition of leaders who never cared about us but now suddenly claim they want to rebuild the nation. You can’t rebuild a nation you destroyed yourself.”

Making a heartfelt appeal to the elders present, he said: “Please, our fathers, we are your children. Allow us this time. Even when the stakeholders come with their inducements, keep it to yourselves and tell them, ‘Go to the booths.’ If the people vote for you, that’s your luck. But don’t tell us to wait again. Every father wants their child to grow. You can’t send us to school, raise us, and then stop us from representing you well.”

He went further to paint a grim picture of everyday hardship under current policies: “If you use NEPA light, you know how much you paid before. But today, calculate what you spend. Even your child’s education—it keeps increasing. Today, can anyone with ₦500 go and buy akara and pap and get satisfied? The answer is no. It is a very pathetic situation. Somebody must stand up and say enough is enough.”

Nwadigos stressed that the battle ahead is not violent but strategic. “We cannot do it by holding guns and knives. It is with our Permanent Voters Card (PVC). Registration is going on now—endeavour to go and register. It is not a violent thing, it is a strategic movement,” he said.

In his vote of thanks, he was more emphatic: “We in the Young Progressives Party are passing a direct message that it will not be business as usual. PDP is finished. APC has kept us in the dark. And ADC is a coalition of confused people, a coalition of pathetic failures. We appeal to our fathers, to our youth, to our women—because YPP is the only party that is gender-sensitive. Come believing that this is your party. And I am telling you, come 2027, we are going to challenge whoever.”

He pledged full support from the national leadership: “We will not just support with words of mouth. We will support with our finances, with our moral support, and with our love. The National Executive Council is open, and at any point you call on us, we will answer. But let 2027 be in your mind. We have suffered so much, and if we make the same mistake again, the less privileged will suffer more.”

Adding a continental voice to the event, His Excellency Osisiogu Osikenyi, President of the All-Africa Students’ Union (AASU) and a rising political figure in Nasarawa State, underscored the uniqueness of YPP as an inclusive platform.

“We as young people of Karu and of Nasarawa State have seen young people in other parts of Nigeria and other countries rise up to take their destinies into their own hands,” Osikenyi said. “We do not do so through violence. We do so through political expression. But the established political parties appear so saturated that there is no space for young people who don’t have millions to spend during primaries. There is no space for women. There is no space for persons with disabilities. That is why we are grateful to the YPP leadership, led by Bishop Emmanuel Amakiri, for providing the platform.”

Explaining the party’s symbolism, he noted: “The logo of the YPP shows the map of Nigeria with an open door. That is why we say Bude Kofa Ga Kowa—open doors for all. It is an open door for young people, for women, for deprived groups, for persons with disabilities, even for elders who feel it is time for the youth. And when that door opens, it does not bring emptiness. It brings a fresh leaf, representing fresh air, fresh opportunities, and fresh leadership.”

Osikenyi also issued a challenge to the dominant parties: “We challenge the APC, PDP, and ADC to show us the place of young people in their party. If they fail, YPP’s door is open. We challenge them to show us the place of women. If they cannot, YPP’s door is open. We challenge them to show us the place of persons with disabilities. If they cannot, YPP’s door is open.”

He hammered home the importance of voter registration: “It is going to be self-destruction if any young person in Nasarawa State does not have his or her voter’s card. The only way to express ourselves is to quietly go and get your PVC. Mama, papa, pikin—everybody must have theirs. Do not deprive yourself of your rights.”

He also appealed to the elders to remain close to the movement. “Although sometimes we felt that calling it the Young People’s Party might threaten you, we are happy that you are even happier than we are. Please, do not allow us to make mistakes. Always call us when we are going astray. Guide us as fathers and mothers so that we do not misuse our exuberance. Let God use you to ensure that we walk on the path of those who have found His favour.”

The meeting ended with cheers of solidarity as fathers, mothers, students, religious leaders, and political groups pledged to spread the YPP message of Bude Kofa Ga Kowa across all 13 local governments of Nasarawa State.

As Nwadigos put it, “We the youth are out. We the youth are ready. And in 2027, it will not be business as usual.”

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