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Collins Nnabuife, Abuja
Ahead of this year’s general election, the African Union Development Agency-New Partnership for African Development (AUDA-NEPAD) has begun a nationwide campaign on voter education to discourage vote buying, foster free and fair election and post-election crisis management.
The National Coordinator/CEO of AUDA-NEPAD/African Peer Review Mechanism, Princess Gloria Akobundu during the Nationwide Workshop on Effective Implementation of the National Programme of Action/Sensitization and Awareness Campaign on Violence Free Election, said the move is part of the mandate and framework of National Programme of Action (NPOA) for AUDA-NEPAD/APRM.
She said one of the five (5) pillars of the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) and African Peer Review Mechanism is to promote Democracy and Good Governance in Nigeria and Africa at large. You will agree with me that this aforementioned cannot be in a continent/country election where our election/electioneering processes are marred with violence.
Akobondu who was represented by the Acting Director, Panning Research and Statistics, Akeem Akande said the Workshop is timely and critical towards the Upcoming General Elections in Nigeria.
The aim of this Workshop is to create awareness on the management of Democracy and build a positive mind set of all Nigerians in the electoral process.
The Mandate Secretary, Economic Planning, Revenue Generation and Public-Private Partnership Secretariat, Agboola Dabiri said the workshop is significant and compelling considering Nigeria’s past experiences as a nation that has gone through chequered political turbulence, especially during periods of electioneering campaigns.
“Recognizing the importance of the forthcoming 2023 general elections in Nigeria and the history of electoral violence in the country, the African Union (AU) in 2002 initiated the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).
“One of the objectives was to address the recurring problem of electoral violence and conflicts within the framework of the implementation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).
“According to reports from the Impact Development Initiative, over the years, electoral violence has been on the rise in Nigeria with a recorded 339 incidents in 2022 alone, resulting in 165 fatalities.
It is needless to weigh you down with another series of frightening reports about the growing incidents of election-related crises, which have been threatening our nascent democracy”, Dabiri said.
He further stated that with the ongoing enlightenment campaigns by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Nigerian youths are getting politically more conscious and active in participating in the 2023 elections.
“Therefore, we must do everything possible to ensure that our youths are not turned to mere political tools by politicians for electoral violence in the 2023 elections.
“This is the main reason we are here today, to brainstorm on strategies for sensitizing the citizenry and ensure violent-free elections in Nigeria.
“To achieve this objective, the workshop has brought together several Stakeholders including electoral experts, scholars, INEC officials, security agencies.
“Thus, this workshop could not have come at a better time than now. With the elections around the corner, we must brace up for violence-free polls.
“We must stand united against all forces of violence and hate speech. We must close ranks and use our votes wisely to elect credible leaders through peaceful, free, and fair polls. That is the only way we can contribute our quota to make Nigeria great”, Dabiri noted.
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