…as Govote unveils resources at
stakeholders parley

By Esther Onyegbula, Lagos

AHEAD of the 2023 general election, Independent National Electoral Commission, ( INEC), tasked stakeholders in Lagos state to take advantage of the current PVC collection of voters card nationwide to equip themselves ahead of next year’s elections.

This is even as the commission lamented the attitude of the political class, vote buying and the use of thugs to disrupt the election process.

The Public Affairs Officer Independent Electoral Commissioner in Lagos state, Mrs. Adenike Oriowo, said while giving an update on the activities of the Independent National Electoral Commission and the level of preparedness for the conduct of the forthcoming 2023 General Election at the Govote stakeholders parley in Lagos.

Oriowo, disclosed that “our major challenge is the attitude of the political class, particularly on what it takes to win elections which usually involve winning election at all cost by deploying of sorts of illicit means such as vote buying, use of thugs to disrupt election process raising of false alarm and dissemination of fake news to whip up unnecessary sentiments as well as the use of hate speeches and vulgar languages to undermine the electoral process.”

“We must tame the monstrous phenomenon of vote buying and other wicked forces that have continuously threatened the credibility of our elections in Nigeria. The political class must change Its do or die attitude toward good conduct in politics.
“Shun violence, fake news, malpractice snatching of ballot boxes, buying and sealing of voters cards, intimidation of election officials and all other election vices”, she added.

On her part, Yvonne Eweka, Project Manager, GoVote Nigeria at Co-creation (CcHub) told the gathering that the Govote project educates and simplifies the voting process and serves as information points to different categories of voters in Nigeria using innovations to bridge the gap between the government and its citizens.

According to Eweka, “In 2023, we intend to deploy more innovation through GoVote to increase citizens’ participation in elections in Nigeria. The platform has expanded to provide to voters around responsible conduct before, during and after the elections; and aggregating information points geared towards helping voters make informed choices about candidates and conducting citizen surveys on election governance,” she added.

Speaking at the event, Emmanuel Ikule, National Coordinator Network On Police Reform In Nigeria NOPRIN urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to allow the collection of voter cards during the festive period. They should allow people to walk into their offices and pick up their cards. It would be convenient for them, but they should sacrifice that time for the electorate to be able to access their card”.

The highlight of the event is the unveiling of the GoVote resources, an open source learning platform where citizens can be equipped with the knowledge to deepen their participation in Nigeria’s election and governance processes.