A three-day Stakeholders’ validation forum in Anambra State, has ended with a call on election stakeholders to be alive to their responsibilities towards achieving the conduct of a peaceful 2025 Governorship Elections, improved democratic participation, and reducing political tensions.
Angel Network News (ANN) reports that
the stakeholders’ validation forum, which also featured strategic advocacy visits, was organized by the Kukah Centre, Secretariat of the National Peace Committee (NPC) under the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN).
The Project Manager at Kukah Centre, Barr. Asabe Ndahi, in his address, said the move is with a view to fostering their collective buy-in for peaceful and inclusive elections by strengthening trust and joint responsibility.
Barr. Ndahi observed that voter apathy in Anambra State is as a result of insecurity, lack of trust in the electoral process, among others and that the forum had helped elicit promises from the stakeholders that they will adequately mobilize their people to participate in the elections.
“The exercise was also targeted to generate practical recommendations for early warning systems, peace messaging, and stakeholder coordination.
“We observed that there is serious voter apathy and have encouraged all the stakeholders to convince people who are under their spheres of influence to participate, believing that they will play their role in the exercise.
“The Kukah centre is the Secretariat of the National Peace Committee. So, while the Peace Committee will be coming to sign the Peace Accord a few days to the elections, we want to do this groundwork, to ensure that before the elections proper, the stakeholders begin to welcome the idea of peaceful and credible elections and play an active role in achieving that.
“We are also taking back recommendations from the State to the National Peace Committee as the opinion of stakeholders here, and we believe that these recommendations will be actionable,”.
Also speaking, the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning officer of the Centre, Deborah Obafemi, revealed that the Kukah centre is interested in interventions that continually promote good governance, leadership development, memory preservation and also different human rights.
According to Obafemi, the Centre wants its position to support peace-building and peaceful elections as much as it can.
“This process is the beginning of a phase. We will also be having the signing of the Peace Accord as the election draws closer. We also have the election security information hub, responsible for gathering insight and data on election security across Nigeria.
“As we round up this forum, we are not just departing. We will also ensure that we continue to have conversations with the stakeholders we have engaged these three days, to identify developments and make inputs towards addressing them.
“Overall, the objective is to achieve peaceful and credible Anambra Governorship Election.” Obafemi maintained.
In his remarks, the traditional ruler of Ifitedunu in Dunukofia Council Area of the state, Igwe Chukwuemeka Ilouno, observed that laws to drive the peaceful conduct of elections are not in short supply in the country, but said the challenge is with their implementation.
Prof. Ilouno harped on the need for the traditional rulers to be adequately carried along in civic education sensitization activities, as grassroots leaders, so that the people in the communities will be adequately sensitized on what is required of them for society to make progress.
Managing Director of the Anambra State Civic and Social Reformation Office of the Governor, ANCISRO, Sir. Chuka Nnabuife, while speaking said the program aligns with the mandate of the ANCISRO towards sensitizing the citizenry to be alive towards their civic responsibility of participating in the electoral processes that bring about leadership across different levels of governance.
Nnabuife opined that the current political atmosphere in Anambra is that of positive expectation but also that of anxiety, emphasizing the point that stakeholders need to deepen the message of voter education in their localities.
A representative of the Disability Community at the event, Miss Chidinma Ajemba, expressed appreciation to the Kukah Centre and the partners for the engagements, which she said have been fruitful in impressing on the stakeholders the need to pursue peace as the election approaches.
In the course of the three-day event, stakeholders from Anambra North, Anambra South and Anambra Central Senatorial zones, including community leaders, religious leaders, the INEC, the media, security agencies, and other state and non-state actors took turns to validate findings from a context analysis conducted across the state.
