Vice-President Yemi Osibanjo on Thursday said age should not be a major factor for those aspiring to hold public offices in the country.
He said competence should be the main consideration irrespective of the aspirants’ age.
Osinbajo said, “I think that whatever age a person chooses to run for office should not matter at all; that for me is a fundamental principle, it really doesn’t matter, even if you are much younger or older in age.“The more important issue, my worry always is so much about the preparedness of young people, the preparedness of anyone, young or old. It is the same way that if you are going to be a pilot or medical doctor, you need to get some training, by devoting your time and resources to a call. Even football requires skills. Practically in any field, you are required to show competence. And in our developing economy, there is need for us to set the bar much higher, not in terms of age, but in terms of competence. We need to set the bar because we are a developing economy, because we don’t have the time to waste on mediocrity.”
Osinbajo cited himself as an example of how to be prepared for public office.He recalled that he had the privilege of serving in government since when he was 30 years old.