An X user identified as Bash Kano has claimed that an older lawmaker in his late 60s is the chairman of the house of representatives committee on youth development.
In a post on X, the user shared an image showing the lawmaker standing and holding a document inside the green chamber. The image has garnered thousands of reposts on the micro-blogging site.
VERIFICATION
However, findings by CableCheck showed that the man in the picture is Yusuf Saidu Miga, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) representing the Jahun/Miga federal constituency of Jigawa state.
Miga, born in 1958, was first elected to the house of representatives in 2003. He is not the chairman of the house of representatives committee on youth development.
The lower legislative chamber has two youth-focused committees — the committee on youth development, chaired by Etim Esin Martin (born July 28, 1987), and the committee on youth in parliament, chaired by Olamijuwonlo Alao-Akala (born September 9, 1985).
‘DANGEROUS MISCHIEF’
In a statement, Jowosimi Eniitan, special assistant on new media to Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house of representatives, described the claim as “dangerous mischief” designed to discredit the leadership of the house and mislead the public about its commitment to youth representation.
“The grand design behind this mischief is as clear as daylight: to paint the house of representatives, under the steady and visionary leadership of Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, PhD, GCON, as an institution that has lost faith in the capacity of Nigeria’s vibrant youth,” he wrote.
“The architects of this falsehood are desperate to resurrect the old, rusty playbook of the former ruling party, sixteen long years where competence was often sacrificed on the altar of favoritism, where even men were appointed to chair committee on women affairs, and absurdity danced on the centre stage.
“Ordinarily, I would ignore the opposition’s clumsy attempt at political necromancy, trying to raise dead narratives to score lame points. But for the sake of the unsuspecting public, I will swiftly set the records straight and consign this barren propaganda to the dungeon of irrelevance.”
He said the post not only misleads the public but also subjects the Jigawa lawmaker to “unnecessary embarrassment.”
Eniitan added that Abbas “remains a firm believer in the competence, capacity, and promise of the emerging generation” and has consistently ensured fair representation of youths and women in leadership roles.
