.
Senate President Abubakar Bukola
Saraki, has charged Nigerians living outside the country to be more active in
the advocacy and lobbying for diaspora voting.
He said this would make it easy for
the National Assembly to get the needed popular support from Nigerians in
carrying out an amendment to the constitution to give Nigerians in diaspora the
opportunity to vote from their countries of residence in future elections.
Addressing Nigerian community in
Ghana at a reception held in his honour in Accra, Saraki said even though the
just concluded amendments could not take care of diaspora voting, it could be
addressed in subsequent amendments, adding that matters of constitutional
alterations were never time bound.
Saraki also charged Nigerians in
diaspora to involve Non Government Organisations and Civil Society Organistions
in the agitation for the introduction of diaspora voting.
Some Nigerians in Ghana had
complained that their voting rights were being breached by the fact that the
Nigerian constitution does not allow them to vote from their country of
residence.
Meanwhile, the nagging issues of
growing population of youths in Africa amid deep seated economic frustration,
declining trade among African countries among others were the thrust of a paper
presented by Saraki, in Accra yesterday.
Delivered at a symposium organised
by the parliament of Ghana to mark the 25 years of democracy, Saraki’s paper
drew the attention of African parliaments and leaders to the urgent need to
address issues that pose threats to African unity and development.
Saraki noted that “Africa’s
population of 1.3 billion will double by 2050, and youths will account for more
than half of that increase adding that “We already have the largest
concentration of young people in the world, according to the United Nations.’’
On the question of improving trade
among African countries as a panacea to economic difficulties, the Senate
President described as unacceptable that Africa’s trade with Europe far
outstrips that between African nations.
Saraki pointed out that “The
attention of British investors is expected to shift from Africa to Europe,
post-Brexit. In the United States, the clamour is all about America First.’’
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