Medical doctor, Yishawu, emerges first female Speaker of Nigerian Youth Parliament

A medical doctor, Azeezat Yishawu, has emerged as the first female Speaker of the Nigerian Youth Parliament.

She emerged as the speaker of the fifth Nigerian Youth Parliament at an election held at the Senate arm of the National Assembly in Abuja on Wednesday.

She polled 50 votes to defeat John Oyelami of the Oyo State Youth Parliament, who had 48 votes after a rerun.

The new youth parliament speaker expressed delight at her emergence when contacted by our correspondent.

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She graduated from Lagos State University in 2019. Yishawu was also the first female Speaker of the Lagos State University Medical Students Association. She led the senate arm of LASUMSA between October 2017 and October 2018.

Yishawu is a Medical Doctor and member of the Lagos State Youth Parliament with over four years of active experience in grassroots mobilisation, citizen engagement and stakeholder management. She has worked with NGOs like Involve Africa, Constitution Lab, etc. to advance democracy and human rights.

She is a Carrington Youth Alumnae, a Fellow at the USA International Visitor Leadership Program and the Young Women Political Leadership School.

As an advocate for good governance and expert at galvanising resources for quality political leadership- especially for young people-, she has worked on impactful projects and championed frontline conversations focused on such.

She mentors many young people, as she believes that their energy and potential if properly harnessed, can serve as a catalyst for exponential sustainable development.

Yishawu is the Founder of Ethics and Political Leadership Foundation- an NGO committed to driving effective democracy, good governance in Nigeria; and Co-founder of ConstitutionLab- a youth-led organization committed to providing Nigerians with working knowledge of the Nigeria Constitution.

Details later…