The bill seeking to reduce the age limit for Nigerians aspiring to be elected as presidents and governors from the current 40 years and above to 30 and above, has elicited divergent views from a cross section of the political class.
While some consider the development a healthy one, others expressed reservations on the intent and workability of the bill if it became law.
Speaking on the issue, Danladi Sankara, who was a member of the 7th Senate expressed support for proposals contained in the bill.
He explained that youths who accounted for the greater percentage of Nigeria’s population should be given a greater say in shaping their future.
Sankara explained that modern trends favoured the kind of reviews being canvassed in the bill.
The ex-lawmaker said, “This is the way to go. For example, today if you are looking for those to employ in sectors like banking you look for young and energetic people. Most 40-year-olds today will find it difficult to get such employment except in cases where they have unmatched experience.
“I am in my 60s now and if I were to be in the National Assembly like I was in the 7th Senate, I will support the bill.
“It is not a matter of people who were in government yesterday, today and will want to remain there tomorrow. It will not be wrong to try something and some people new if that will bring sanity to the system.”
However, Dr. Junaid Mohammed disagreed. According to him, those pushing for the bill are individuals who are seeking for personal gain.
He said, “I think they (lawmakers) are trying to be copy cats of a system which has nothing to do with us. In terms of an individual’s capacity for success in every human endeavour, there is more to a sense of responsibility and quality of judgement than just someone’s age.
“As far as I am concerned, they should look for something else to do instead of wasting people’s time. This is not Britain, this is not America, this not Europe or Britain.
“In China, there are quite a number of persons in their 60s and 70s and they have more achievements to their names instead of their age. Our legislators in the House are only seeking to clear the way for themselves.”
It was gathered that the issue had not come up for discussions at party level either within the All Progressives Congress or the Peoples Democratic Party.
However, the APC Deputy National Chairman (South), Mr. Segun Oni, said at a personal level, the issue of age limit was a non issue when national development was at stake.
According to him, the electorate should be encouraged and enlightened to make informed decisions to vote for the right persons into office irrespective of their biological age.
He said, “Personally, I don’t believe in this issue of age limits. If the electorate wants to vote a 21-year-old person into office as a result of his pedigree why must he/she be prevented?
“The age thing is just in theory because there are some things that someone who is too young may not have. Despite that, we must not shut them (the young) out. I don’t believe in shutting people out on account of their age. The question to ask is does the person seeking for office have what it takes to deliver?”
Speaking in a similar vein, former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Abdullahi Jalo, said, “The PDP, as you know and Nigerians know, is a party that respects the laws of this country. If any law is properly passed we will obey it.
“What is more important for us is a situation where every Nigerian will be carried along. The country is made up of all of us, men, women, children. We all need one another to succeed.
“You need the wisdom of the old and the vibrancy of the youths to build society. To the best of my knowledge, our focus in the party now is our forth coming convention the issue of the bill has not come up for discussions.”