….As Utomi, Falana launch #FixNASS2027 Campaign

By Henry Obetta

The Youths Off The Street Initiative, YOTSI, on Tuesday, unveiled the Nigerian Youths and Women Political Emancipation Movement, NYWOPEM, alongside a nationwide civic mobilisation campaign tagged #FixNASS2027, aimed at compelling electoral reforms and boosting youth-women political representation ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The initiative also drew notable individuals including Political economist, Professor Pat Utomi; human rights lawyer, Femi Falana and other distinguished participants from across political parties, civil society organisations, religious bodies and women-led groups.

Founder of YOTSI and convener of the movement, Kennedy Iyere, said NYWOPEM was born out of the persistent marginalisation of youths and women in governance despite accounting for over 60 per cent of Nigeria’s voting population.

He lamented that while they dominate voter statistics, their representation in the National Assembly and other elective offices remains disproportionately low, a situation he said weakens accountability and inclusive policy-making.

According to him, the movement will serve as a unifying electoral platform for political engagement, networking and mobilisation to enable youths and women contest legislative seats and determine electoral outcomes.

Iyere said: “The need to entrench a people-driven and functional legislature calls for the launch of #FixNASS2027. It is time for Nigerian youths and women to reverse elite political dominance by using their voting power as a tool.”

He explained that the campaign would mobilise citizens to replace lawmakers who fail to act in the public interest, particularly over refusal to approve real-time electronic transmission of election results.

He further urged Nigerians to mount pressure on members of the 10th National Assembly to approve electronic transmission of results, noting that the advocacy would remain peaceful and constitutional while extending to constituency offices nationwide.

Also speaking, Femi Falana called on the National Assembly to urgently amend the Electoral Act to make electronic transmission of results compulsory from polling units to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, server.

He said the reform had become necessary after the 2023 general elections and Supreme Court rulings which held that electronic transmission was optional under existing law.

Falana recalled that INEC had assured Nigerians before the 2023 polls that accreditation would be done with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, and results transmitted electronically.

In his remarks, Pat Utomi described the launch as the beginning of sustained mobilisation to deepen democracy and expand political opportunities for youths and women.

He dismissed concerns about network limitations, arguing that results captured electronically can be uploaded once connectivity is available, comparing the process to Nigeria’s digital banking system.

Utomi warned lawmakers against actions capable of undermining electoral credibility, saying history would judge harshly any attempt to sustain processes that enable manipulation.