CSOs urges voters to turnout for Governorship polls
Executive Director of CODE, Hamzat Lawal addressing the media at the event in Abuja
Ahead of the Governorship and State House of Assembly elections, Connected Development and her partners, have appealed to electorates to come out enmass to exercise their franchise during the gubernatorial elections.
The Group also called on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to restore the trust of electorates by curbing the shortcomings.
Speaking to Journalists at a press briefing on Thursday in Abuja, the Executive Director of CODE, Hamzat Lawal, said there was need for INEC, to redeem its image, by ensuring that this Saturday’s governorship and State house of Assembly elections was transparent and all technology working effectively.
“At 27%, Nigeria recorded its lowest voter turnout despite recording the 87.2million PVC’s collected. While we expect INEC to have addressed these issues, it’s important to state that the general outcome of the 2023 elections will determine citizen’s engagement in future elections”. Lawal noted.
CODE’s Director of Democracy and Governance, Emmanuel Njoku, expressed worry that the outcome of the presidential polls had planted the seed of distrust in the minds of electorates who will most likely be heading to the ballot with doubts.
Contributing, the convener of Election Eyewitness Observers Mission, Mr Semiye Michael, urged electorates to protect their votes and resist any form of voter intimidation.
The Country Director of the Accountability Lab, Odeh Friday, urged Nigerian youths to have confidence in the election process, assuring that their vote would count.
Reporting by Julian Osamoto; Editing by Adeniyi Bakare