2019 Polls: NAS tasks INEC on increased voters’ education
*Embarks on nationwide sensitisation campaign
The National Association of Seadogs (NAS) also known as the Pirates, has called on the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) to engage more in voters’ education and sensitisation before the 2019 general elections commences. They said there still remains a huge gap to fill in ensuring that the citizens are motivated to exercise their franchise, and are aware of the importance of voting as a powerful key to determine the future of the nation and generations to come. Under its nationwide Citizens’ Summit Program on Saturday, NAS embarked on a sensitization walk around major public places in Abuja, reminding citizens of their inalienable rights to vote and ensure their votes count in the upcoming polls. Although judging from the responses of most people during the walk, a high level of apathy and lack of interest in the electoral process was apparent, revealing that a lot of public engagements especially in local dialects is pertinent. The National Director of Publicity and Public Relations NAS, John Okey, noted that credible elections are dependent on large voters’ turnout and to achieve and sustain its credibility, INEC needs to work closely with political parties and especially the citizens to attract greater of participation from electorates. “It is obvious that INEC needs to engage more, you don’t sit in your office and then decide what you think is right for the people. I listened to the INEC chairman’s interview some few days ago, and he was justifying the electoral guidelines, saying it is best for the people and they have decided what is good for the people, you don’t do that. “You need to engage across board, the political parties are critical stakeholders, you need to engage them because they have experience you need to draw from, the citizens also have experiences you need to draw from,” he said. He disclosed that a survey conducted by NAS confirmed a high level of apathy amongst the electorates towards elections, prompting them to embark on a nationwide sensitization campaign to galvanize Nigerians to collect their PVCs, exercise their franchise and ensure their votes count. “Now I give you an example there was a man we spoke to in the market and he said ‘oga, my anger be say children of big men no dey vote, una we wey dey commot come campaign why children of big men no follow una’. I told him that is the irony, I explained to him that the principle of democracy is built on the system that majority carries the vote. If APC, SDP or PDP or any other party get more votes, they win. So our objective is to draw out more people, so that everybody comes out, to vote,” he further revealed. Stanley Nwodo the President of NAS, Abuja branch, also emphasized that voters’ education is a strong strategy to deter vulnerable citizens from being used as tools to perpetrate violence, he also stated that the sensitization exercise nationwide was also to encourage Nigerians to vote candidates of their choice without resorting to violence and disruptions. He assured that as a Civil Society Organisation, the Pirates will continue to interface with citizens after the elections to continue to amplify the demands of Nigerians to government. Adebisi Oyindamola, Abuja
The National Association of Seadogs (NAS) also known as the Pirates, has called on the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) to engage more in voters’ education and sensitisation before the 2019 general elections commences. They said there still remains a huge gap to fill in ensuring that the citizens are motivated to exercise their franchise, and are aware of the importance of voting as a powerful key to determine the future of the nation and generations to come. Under its nationwide Citizens’ Summit Program on Saturday, NAS embarked on a sensitization walk around major public places in Abuja, reminding citizens of their inalienable rights to vote and ensure their votes count in the upcoming polls. Although judging from the responses of most people during the walk, a high level of apathy and lack of interest in the electoral process was apparent, revealing that a lot of public engagements especially in local dialects is pertinent. The National Director of Publicity and Public Relations NAS, John Okey, noted that credible elections are dependent on large voters’ turnout and to achieve and sustain its credibility, INEC needs to work closely with political parties and especially the citizens to attract greater of participation from electorates. “It is obvious that INEC needs to engage more, you don’t sit in your office and then decide what you think is right for the people. I listened to the INEC chairman’s interview some few days ago, and he was justifying the electoral guidelines, saying it is best for the people and they have decided what is good for the people, you don’t do that. “You need to engage across board, the political parties are critical stakeholders, you need to engage them because they have experience you need to draw from, the citizens also have experiences you need to draw from,” he said. He disclosed that a survey conducted by NAS confirmed a high level of apathy amongst the electorates towards elections, prompting them to embark on a nationwide sensitization campaign to galvanize Nigerians to collect their PVCs, exercise their franchise and ensure their votes count. “Now I give you an example there was a man we spoke to in the market and he said ‘oga, my anger be say children of big men no dey vote, una we wey dey commot come campaign why children of big men no follow una’. I told him that is the irony, I explained to him that the principle of democracy is built on the system that majority carries the vote. If APC, SDP or PDP or any other party get more votes, they win. So our objective is to draw out more people, so that everybody comes out, to vote,” he further revealed. Stanley Nwodo the President of NAS, Abuja branch, also emphasized that voters’ education is a strong strategy to deter vulnerable citizens from being used as tools to perpetrate violence, he also stated that the sensitization exercise nationwide was also to encourage Nigerians to vote candidates of their choice without resorting to violence and disruptions. He assured that as a Civil Society Organisation, the Pirates will continue to interface with citizens after the elections to continue to amplify the demands of Nigerians to government. Adebisi Oyindamola, Abuja
