NOA flags off Northwest voter education campaign

Yakubu Salisu, Kano

The National Orientation Agency (NOA) on Friday, kicked off its Northwest Zonal voter education campaign towards the 2019 general elections. The Campaign, which took place in Kano had in attendance relevant stakeholders from across different fields, with the theme; Stakeholders Dialogue for Peaceful and Violence free 2019 Elections. The Director General of the Agency, Garba Abari represented by the National Director of finance and account, Balarabe S Gambo said the Agency have embarked on peace building work in various communities across the country through its program platform tagged: “Building a people of peace” He said the Agency saddled with the statutory responsibility for sensitization, orientation and community peace building, deemed it necessary to organize such campaign for peaceful elections. According to him, election period in Nigeria have come to be characterized with great anxiety, usually heightened by the reckless utterances and sometimes, actions of some politicians and their followers. Abari said that, parents, religious leaders and traditional rulers must come together to call to order, youths, who are easily used by unscrupulous politicians as cannon fodder for the perpetration of violence before, during and after election periods. That, it is time for the youths in the country to say no to greedy and selfish politicians who would want to tempt them with the lures of money and other material benefits to lead them to destruction of lives and property during the period. Garba explained that, the agency is quite aware that the 2019 general elections could have significant consequences for the democratic trajectory of Nigeria, West Africa and the entire Africa continent. As such, politicians sowing seeds of acrimony, tribal and religious discord for political gains must be rejected. “As patriots and lovers of our dear country, we must realize that we have no other country like Nigeria. We have a duty to promote peace, enhance security, national unity and integration, using our diversity and fault lines as a source of strength rather than a reason to commit violence” In his remarks, the Kano state Director of the Agency, (NOA), Garba Wada Doka, called on all Nigerians to imbibe the spirit of tolerance and maturity while urging politicians to be mindful of their utterances and guard against provocative statements capable of overheating the polity and precipitating the breakdown of law and order. He urged participants and every citizen of the country to see it as a duty to work within their sphere of influence to ensure that the elections are peaceful all over the country.