• Says APC presidential candidate will run intergenerational govt
• Assures Tinubu of 50 million youth votes

The Dayo Israel-led All Progressives Congress (APC) National Youth Wing is set to inaugurate its novel campaign council on Friday at the Umaru Musa Yaradua Hall, Murtala Square, in Kaduna State.
The council was formed to mobilise youth votes for the Presidential Candidate of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and other candidates of the party in the coming elections.

Israel, who is the National Youth Leader of the party, made the announcement in a statement yesterday, while reiterating the council’s commitment to secure 50 million youth votes for the party in the coming polls.

The youth leader would be joined at the inauguration by other leaders of the party, including the governor of the host state Nasir El-Rufai, leaders and members of the Council, elected leaders of the youth wing and party stakeholders from across the country.

The over 200,000-member council comprises 176,846 polling unit youth leaders, 774 LGA youth leaders, 37 state youth leaders, and six zonal youth leaders that make up the party’s youth wing.

Israel said they would be joined by other grassroots mobilisers and young members of the party with expertise in research, data and election management, media strategy, and public engagement.

He said the inauguration would mark the actuation of the council’s directorates and the unveiling of other campaign materials and innovations, which includes the Jagaban’s Army and a sub-directorate who are tasked with grassroots mobilisation through foot soldiers represented in all the polling units of the country to engage and persuade voters with the support of a canvassers’ record sheet, which will also be unveiled at the event.

Israel said other sub-directorates such as Jagaban’s Airforce and Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s (BAT) envoy responsible for media engagements and public affairs respectively, will also be formally launched.

He said: “The Wing will also unveil the ‘Young Progressives’ mobile app recently designed and uploaded to the Google Play Store to provide timely updates on its activities – including campaign engagements – and aid inclusive and inter-departments collaboration for the attainment of its declared objectives. This is in addition to the unveiling of pledge cards designed to draw commitments from electorates across the country towards the party’s poll success.
Meanwhile, Israel has said that Tinubu would offer intergenerational collaboration, if he emerged as the President of the country.

   
Israel spoke with journalists during a zoom meeting to unveil the State Brigade list of the “APC youth wing Jagaban Army Council,” which spread across the 36 states.
   
The youth leader expressed optimism that if Tinubu emerges as president, he (Tinubu) would run a youth driven administration, saying the youths are not just requesting to be cabinet members.
He said: “We want fair representation for young people. Tinubu will build a Nigeria that is youth friendly. There is going to be youth participation in his government, that is very sure.”
   
Israel said it took over two intensive months to put together the state brigade list, while reaching out to stakeholders in every state in the country.
   
Israel said the brigade in the Jagaban Army would lead grassroots door-to-door mobilisation exercises; captains in Asiwaju Airforce will dominate the airwaves and coordinate media activities; ambassadors in BAT’s Envoy will coordinate and manage public relations.
  
He said the council would serve as the implementation committee of the APC National Youth Wing Master plan, which outlines strategies and tactics developed to give the party a total and youth-driven victory in 2023.
   
Israel urged ‘Tinubu’s foot soldiers’ to serve with diligence and strong commitment, bearing in mind the enormity of the responsibility they have been entrusted with and its special significance to the victory and future of the party and country.
    
“It is a bottom up list of people on ground who will work extensively to deliver the success of the presidential, national and state elections on behalf of the youth wing of the party. All our elected youth leaders up to polling unit levels are statutory members. This list is not exhaustive, as such, we have given the state leadership team the power to co-opt additional foot soldiers with recourse to the National Leadership.
   
“Even if your name doesn’t reflect, you are still a Jagaban Soldier, don’t despair, keep fighting for Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT), and reach out to your state leadership with evidence of your effort for co-opting,” he stated