Damilola Marshal, daughter of Fuji maestro Wasiu “Kwam 1” Ayinde, has been screened by the All Progressives Congress (APC) Screening Committee ahead of the Lagos State House of Assembly primaries.
PREMIUM TIMES gathered that Damilola, who currently serves as the Senior Special Assistant to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Tourism, obtained the nomination form in April to contest for the Surulere Constituency II seat.
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Speaking after the screening exercise conducted on Monday by the committee chaired by Porok Fomson, Damilola said younger voices deserved greater opportunities to shape Nigeria’s future.
The aspiring lawmaker stressed that the time had come for Nigerian youths to play more active roles in governance and policymaking.
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She said: “I’ve done consultations around my constituency, I’ve engaged with youths, and we’re very certain that youths look up. It is our time, basically. We know that we youths have this stigma of being unserious, of not being capable. That is why people like me have come forward to prove that narrative wrong.
“I’m very sure that we are going to do well. Youths need more opportunities to represent us and contribute their quota to the development of our country. So, please, cancel that narration or that notion you have in your mind that youths can’t do much.”
Appeal
Furthermore, Damilola urged the party’s stakeholders to appoint more youths to leadership and elective positions within the party.
She said young people could contribute significantly if the party entrusted them with power.
“We are in tune with the past generation, we are in tune with the present generation, and we are also in tune with the generation coming after us. So trust me, this is our time.
“Whatever the party says, we are definitely going to support the decision of the party, but we are just going to appeal to the party to please consider the youth,” she noted.
Damilola added that, as a young person, she remained connected to the grassroots, noting that she consulted stakeholders before declaring her intention to run.
Women inclusion
Additionally, Damilola described the screening exercise as free and fair, noting that it was important to engage aspirants in one-on-one discussions before allowing them to represent their people.
She explained that the process helped assess their intellectual capacity and determine whether they fully understood the responsibilities of the positions they sought.
“I just finished my screening exercise, and I would say it’s really important. So, inside we were asked numerous questions to be sure that we are ready to represent our community at the House of Assembly”, she noted.
He expressed confidence that she would emerge as the constituency’s representative, highlighting the importance of greater female inclusion in politics.
“I’m being hopeful, since the President has been trying as much as possible for female inclusion in politics, which has given women like me an opportunity to step forward to vie for political positions. So I’m being very, very hopeful that I’m going to be picked.”
Backstory
Mr Fomson disclosed that the committee screened 184 aspirants for the party’s tickets across the 40 constituencies in the state, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday.
He described the exercise as successful, attributing its smooth conduct to the commitment and resilience of both party members and the aspirants.
He explained that all 184 aspirants who purchased nomination forms and appeared before the committee were successfully screened in line with the party’s constitution and democratic principles.
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Mr Fomson further noted that only four aspirants withdrew from the race after obtaining nomination forms, while no withdrawals were recorded during the screening exercise itself.
He clarified that the committee was only responsible for screening aspirants vying for State House of Assembly tickets.
According to him, separate committees in Abuja conducted screenings for governorship and National Assembly aspirants.
“The mandate given to us by the National Working Committee and the National Chairman of the party is to screen only members seeking election into the House of Assembly. For anything above that, all were carried out in Abuja by the respective panels and committees,” he said.
