July 15, (THEWILL) – A pro-democracy organisation, the Campaign for Dignity in Governance (CDG), has commenced the mobilisation of voters in Lagos for the Saturday July 24 council elections to encourage a massive turn-out on the day for the exercise.
Dropping the hint on Thursday in Lagos was the group’s Co-Convener, Hajia Ramat Abdul-Razaq, who said, the mobilisation exercise is very important and vital to deepening democracy, in the sense that, “The tier of government to be involved in the election is the closest to the grassroots people, who rely on the councils for their dividends of democracy.”
According to her, the group commenced mobilisation for voters’ registration across the country and beyond, but that the intensification of the mobilisation exercise in Lagos State was borne out of the fact that a crucial election with a direct bearing on the grassroots populace will be taking place on Saturday, July 24.
The CDG’s Co-Convener also reminded that her boss, Razaq Olokoba, stated recently that, “All members of the CDG, a group that consists of over 70 other human rights associations across the world have commenced sensitisation programmes towards mobilising all the eligible Nigerian voters to register.”
She added, however that, the Lagos aspect of the mobilisation is so crucial that no stone is being left unturned to ensure that the polls record an unprecedented success in the history of council polls in the state.
Recall that Olokoba, in a recent interview has informed that, “The mobilisation, which has started over some time now, is to get overwhelming numbers of eligible voters to partake in all the elections coming up between now and 2023,” regretting that, “Lack of information and required education on the importance of that vital democratic exercise always cause apathy in elections in this country.”
According to him, some people would have taken the registering for voters seriously only if they are aware of its importance, explaining that, “That gap is what we are trying to fill because such a gesture is supposed to be a collective responsibility of all patriotic Nigerians who desires the best for the country.”
The youth leader reminded in the interview that the voting card is a potent weapon to either retain good administrators in office for another term or sweep them out of office if they are found wanting and replace them with preferred alternatives, adding, “We voluntarily embark on the project as our own quota to deepen democracy and facilitate good governance across the country.”
Olokoba was quoted to have warned that, “Whoever fails to register would, automatically be shirking his/her civic responsibility of choosing the right candidates for various elective offices and thus would not have the audacity to complain when things go wrong as a result of bad choices.”
He admonished that, “Every eligible voter should endeavour to spare time to participate in the very important exercise.”
Against this background, Hajia Ramat tasked all the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), political associations, religious organisations, Non-Governmental Organisations, corporate outfits, students bodies, the military and para-military forces to float schemes towards the mobilisation of eligible voters in the country, asserting that, “such a step would curb future apathy during elections in Nigeria.”
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.
