TheCable

The Public Senate, an initiative which aims to educate youth on advocacy and parliament, says there is a need for young people to understand the true workings of the legislative arm of government.

In a statement on Thursday, Sola James, a representative of Public Senate, said the perception of the youth on parliament needs to change.

He said what young people learn by knowing more about the legislature would inspire them to hold public offices as senators or representatives.

“Over time the youth have come to believe that lawmakers, particularly the senators, only have sessions to debate fat salaries, cars or wardrobe allowances,” the statement read.

“But we know that this is not true. What we have started is to show the youth what the senate is truly all about and to do this we’ve brought seven young people from all over Nigeria to observe senators debate issues in plenary amongst other activities.

“This will maybe inspire them to aim at being senators someday, but most importantly, it enlightens them on the true workings of the legislative arm of government.”

On Wednesday, some youth visited the national assembly, interacted with administrative staff, a number of senators, and Senate President Bukola Saraki.