Former Information Minister, Professor Jerry Gana, has said the youths mandated him to be in the race for 2019 presidential elections.

73 year old Professor Gana, who made this known while answering questions from journalists in Minna, Niger State yesterday, said the youth of the country had given him their mandate and had been supporting him too.Professor Gana who is contesting for the Presidency under the platform of Social Democratic Party, SDP said: “I am a surrogate of the youths, the youths asked me to aspire and they have pledged to support me and they have started supporting me.”

He said for now, the country needed the combination of elders and youths in governance for survival and progress of the country.“You cannot read experience in the books but you can acquire it from the elders and this is why we need to blend the youths and the elderly ones to move the country forward because this will amount to a wise combination,” he remarked.He called on the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, to really live true to its name by being independent and transparent in the conduct of the 2019 general elections.