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The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has expressed its reservations over the involvement of a 15-year-old in politics.
This comes as Mercy Williams, a student of an undisclosed Lagos secondary school, recently floated a political support group under the aegis of City Boy Progressive Group (CBPG) to drum support for the APC presidential torchbearer, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
According to reports, the student's father, Friday Williams, was a broadcaster who worked with Faaji FM and Jordan FM before health bouts forced him into early retirement.
Meanwhile, Williams' decision to delve into politics at such a young age had split opinions even within the APC as a considerable number of party stalwarts applauded her courage while others, including the National Publicity Director of the party, Bala Ibrahim, frowned upon her action.
But, the 15-year-old student remains undeterred in her chosen career path.
Talking to The Punch in an interview, the Director General of the CBPG said why she veered into politics at a tender age.
She also spoke about her desire to meet the former Lagos State Governor before or after the presidential election, adding that it didn't matter to her that she was yet to meet Tinubu.
Williams' words: “I got attracted to politics at the age of 10. I even campaigned actively for Muhammadu Buhari, who is our current president. Before then, I have been closely studying the contribution of Asiwaju Tinubu and his achievements, especially in Lagos politics. I like everything about him so much that when he announced his intention to run for presidency, I was motivated to create a group this year to rally support for him.
“I didn’t even know the group could be this massive today. We presently have state coordinators in some major states to date. Even on Facebook, our followers cut across the 36 states including the Federal Capital Territory and the Diaspora. Quite a lot of people have also bombarded us with requests to join the City Boy Progressive Group.
“What matters is that I am able to contribute to his winning the 2023 presidential election. It is true that I have not met him physically. But I am eagerly looking forward to meeting him before or after the election. That is because I am sure he will become the next president of Nigeria.”
APC not impressed: Reacting to the development, the party’s Publicity Director kicked against the idea of allowing a teenager to run a political group, reported The Punch.
Ibrahim noted that aside from amounting to an abuse of privilege, critics may view it as an attempt by the APC to recruit underage people for election.
Ibrahim's words: “Fifteen years is underage. She is a teenage girl and cannot vote or be voted for. She is legally not qualified for such a position. Anything done in that direction amounts to abuse of rights. She is being taken care of and cannot take care of anybody.
“If the group is to support people in her age bracket, that is another thing entirely. She could be a guinea pig in the project. Certainly, politics is supposed for people who can participate. The truth is that if you cannot vote, how can you protect and champion the cause of those who can? How can you canvass for positions in the party when you are not eligible to vote or be voted for?
“Otherwise you will have schoolchildren filling up the whole place. It has many implications. Otherwise, this could be one of those things that could be used by the opposition. They will easily accuse their ruling party of using underage people to vote on the day of election.”