Politics
THE Electoral Hub, an affiliate of the Initiative for Research Innovation and Advocacy Development (IRIAD) has created the Electoral Volunteer Information Centre (EVIC) to build citizens knowledge on electoral matters.
The Director, IRIAD-The Electoral Hub, Princess Hamman-Obels, in a statement on Tuesday said the EVIC would also help to tackle misinformation and disinformation during election.
Hamman-Obels said that the Electoral Hub with support from the DAI and the EU Funded Programme “Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria” (EU-SDGN) inaugurated EVIC in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Kano and Lagos States.
‘’The EVIC project is primarily aimed at civic engagement and education in relation to the forthcoming 2023 General Election.
“This intervention is also in furtherance of engaging citizens and mobilising voters for election being a pillar of the electoral process and deepening citizens’ engagement to ensure electoral integrity.
“The objectives of the EVICs include bringing electoral information close to the electorates, assisting citizens to know their PVC status and collection points.
“It also includes sensitising citizens about their Polling Units (PUs) locations and access, improving knowledge and understanding of the electoral process and procedures,’’ she said.
Hamman-Obels added that the EVIC would also help to build knowledge on the National Independent Electoral Commission’s (INEC) new electoral technology and promote women, youths, and Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) participation in the electoral process.
She said that at the EVICs, citizens would as well provide information about the Bimodal Verification Accreditation System (BVAS) and other electoral information.
She said the establishment of the centre became imperative because the electoral period particularly in Nigeria has always been a volatile period and has been surrounded by misconceptions and political apathy.
She said that the purpose of establishing EVIC was to also raise the level of involvement of the electorate in the electoral process, by improving the knowledge and understanding of INEC’s policies.
This, she said would be through voter education, expanding inclusivity and thereby promoting overall participation in the electoral process.
“We believe this will help to curb electoral illiteracy ahead of the 2023 general election as individuals would be enlightened on the correct information about the election.
“Due to these concerns and in line with The Electoral hub’s commitment to promoting electoral knowledge, accountability, and integrity, the EVIC was conceived to breach the knowledge gap amongst the electorate about the electoral process.’’
Hamman-Obels said that 40 EVICs had been deployed across three locations, namely FCT, Kano and Lagos States.
She said there were EVICs in all area councils of the FCT: Abaji, AMAC, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali, adding that similarly, there were EVICs in six LGAs of Kano and Lagos States.
She said that the EVICs would operate from Mondays to Sundays and would run till the eve of the Presidential Election.
She said that the EVIC project was one of The Electoral Hub’s programmes geared toward bringing about electoral knowledge, accountability, and integrity.
The director said the Electoral Hub was particular about supporting and safeguarding the integrity of institutions of the electoral process and governance while the EVIC project was one of such programmes.
She said with the general election less than 25 days away, all electoral stakeholders have been encouraged to work together to achieve a free, fair, and credible election.(NAN)
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Tags: Electoral Hub IRIAD Princess Hamman-Obels
