KOWA national youth leader resigns after 2 years

Feranmi announced his resignation in a press statement on Monday, July 2, 2018, noting that he's setting out on another important journey in pursuit of total service and impact to the country's youthful generation.

He disclosed that he'll be a part of a "Raising New Voices" campaign that will attempt to inject a "new caucus of anti-establishment candidates" into the National Assembly, accusing old time lawmakers of only pretending to represent the interest of youths and the general populace.

According to him, he'll join forces with other young people and attempt to help a caucus of 25 candidates, spread across the six geo-political zones, to be elected into the federal House of Representatives. He said the main goals of the candidates, if elected, would be focused on sectoral reforms and governance reforms.

These candidates, he revealed, would be compiled from a pool of new anti-establishment parties like KOWA, Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP), Young Progressive Party (YPP), Alliance For New Nigeria (ANN), and others.

Read his full statement below:

"After about 2 years and 93 days serving my party as National Youth Leader, I am setting out on another important journey in pursuit of total service and impact to my country and my generation.

"As we draw closer to the General elections in 2019, I believe it is important for our generation to understand the implications of the #NotTooYoungToRun Law and seize the opportunities that the law presents before we are sent into another 20 year cycle of failed leadership by children of the current political establishment who are our own peers.

"Lest we become the generation who shot itself in the foot by opening the doors for another generational leadership that cares only for itself and its cronies, I will be joining other young Nigerians in a campaign to raise new voices in our parliament.

"A few agree that while we need to change the leadership at the center in Aso Villa, we need much more importantly to change those who pretend to represent us in the National Assembly while they are representing their pockets and their own selfish interests.

"A few, much more than the former also continue to reinforce the narrative that nothing will change as regards political power in 2019 and that even though we’re in ‘trouble’, there’s little in terms of political structure that we can do about it.

"If anything, National Assembly members have shown consistently that they don’t care about the issues that we care about as young people. There’s little oversight functions that exist in the agencies that handle topical issues that affect young people like Technology and Education.

"Since they agree to the sharing formula and the stupendous budgets they appropriate year in year out, they seldom have debates and when there are debates eventually, the debates are about why one of them is maltreated or why their egos are not rubbed by their self-made enemies -the executive.

"The #RaisingNewVoices campaign is an anti-establishment campaign that is geared towards changing this status quo by injecting into our National Assembly a new caucus of anti-establishment candidates who are competent, compassionate and proven leaders in their own right to raise the issues that young people care about.

"This caucus of 25 House of Representatives candidates, spread across the 6 geo-political zones will be young Nigerians below 35 years of age and will be focusing on two category of law reforms in the House – Sectoral Reforms which will include the Technology and Innovation Sector, The Education Sector and The Economy and Governance Reforms which will include Laws on Anti-Corruption, Meritocracy (Civil Service Reforms) and Lean Government.

"In simple terms, together with 200,000 Nigerians who will be donating N5,000 each both from Nigeria and the Diaspora, we will be putting together N1billion to finance the campaign.

"Is this Audacious? Yes! Is it Achievable? Definitely Yes!

"Do you have questions? Of course I know you do. You'll get more details in the coming days. For now, I'll like you to keep on believing in the salvation and the redemption of our nation. And if you have lost hope already, I will like you to go find it wherever you left it, dust it up and let's continue the journey towards the Nigeria of our dreams, where every citizen is guaranteed a decent, secure life on this planet that God has gifted us."

Feranmi was KOWA Party's candidate for the Ward 10, Ilesha East LGA councillorship election in Osun State in January 2018, but was eventually omitted from the ballot.