Yiaga Africa has tasked political parties with the need to provide technical, financial, and logistics support to their young candidates during the campaigns as part of measures to secure electoral victory for youth candidates during the 2023 general elections.
The recommendation is included in the Preliminary report on Youth Candidacy in the 2023 Elections in Nigeria produced by Yiaga Africa with Support from Voice.
The report identified “the public perception of youth leadership affects the emergence of youth candidates in elections as young people are perceived as inexperienced and ill-prepared for public leadership.”
To address this, the report highlighted that “youth candidates will require technical support to hone political organizing skills, and improve knowledge on election day operations, and legal framework for elections.”
Yiaga also charged the general public to support youth candidates by making financial donations to youth candidates with competence, character, and capacity.
The report also recommended that “media organizations should prioritize coverage of youth candidates. Adequate airtime should be provided to young male and female candidates to provide visibility for youth candidates and improve public perception of youth candidates.”
It also noted that “to advance political inclusion and accountability in the election, Nigeria requires comprehensive political finance reform and reforms of the delegate recruitment and management process.”