The European Union (EU), yesterday, explained that its interest in the ongoing campaign for voter registration in Nigeria was basically to ensure massive participation of youth in electioneering process and possibly governance.
The EU Director of Programme said at the press conference that, “We only want people to get their PVCs and vote in subsequent elections. We have no partisan interest.”
She further said the European Union was standing with INEC and government of Nigeria by ensuring that the 60 per cent of the youth, which consisted more than 29 million voters, was to ensure that the youths were captured in the voter register and vote at subsequent elections
“We want the young people to be engaged during electioneering processes. Our action is non-partisan but to get the youth in issues of elections and possibly, governance. Let’s help the youth get their permanent voters card (PVC) and let them come out and vote during election.
“What we are doing today is not new. We did it in Lagos and also in six cities from the six universities in the six geopolitical zones during the 2019 general election.
“Going toward, we are connecting with people that are not in the universities. The concert is fully supported by INEC. The objective is to get people to be on the INEC register and vote during election,” she stated.
Itodo, also, imagined what would happen in Nigeria at subsequent elections, if the youths were registered as voters and armed with their PVC.
According to him, “If 29 million of the voters that are youths vote, they will determine the next set of leaders for Nigeria,” urging the youth to register collect their PVC and get ready to vote.
In a data made available to newsmen, Yiaga Africa said, in 2019, 84,004. 084, which represented 86.63 per cent of the PVCs was collected, but only 29, 364,209 , or 35 per cent voted, out of which 26.7 million voted in the governorship election or 32 per cent.
Of this, Itodo explained that, 12.192, 850, or 28 per cent were youth voters.
In the current continuous voter registration exercise, as at January this year, he said1,390,519, out of which 1,093, 834 or 78 per cent had registered, urging the youth to use the window of the registration of voters, so that they could make their views count.
He said in the last musical concert that took place in Lagos, over 11000 of new voters were added, stressing that the essence of the concert was to mobilise youths in the language they understood.
He, therefore, urged INEC to extend the registration, as “Extending the registration is to encourage the youths – more citizens to participate and it will give more legitimacy to the electioneering process and governance.”
INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Information, Victor Aluko, on his part, said the objective of the musical concert was to get the youths to get their PVC and enable the youths to vote during elections, and called on the youths to get involved with voter registration than being active only on social media activities.
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Also, the representative of INEC chairman and FCT Resident Electoral Commissioner, Yahaya Bello, reiterated that the CVR would end June 30, saying 50 machines were deployed for the processes of Voter registration in Area 10 Garki, Abuja.
Bello, who noted that the PVCs would not be ready now, added that, “the PVCs we are distributing are that of 2019 and 2018. PVCs of now will be ready in 2023.”
