BY KHALID IDRIS DOYA, Bauchi
A Non-governmental Organization, Peering And Advocacy Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA) has said that its main objective is to educate Nigerians on the legal framework on which elections were conducted as contained in the Electoral Act, 2022.
The PAACA Executive Director, Mr. Ezenwa Nwagwu noted that even the most enlightened segment of the Nigerian society do not have the understanding of the legal regime on which elections are conducted.
Mr. Nwagwu was speaking during a one-day capacity-building workshop for journalists on electoral act in Bauchi, organized by PAACA with support from MacArthur Foundation, on Tuesday, saying that the centre decided to partner with the media across the six geo-political zones of the country.
While explaining that the Northeast geo-political zone is the fifth since when they started the advocacy visit sometimes early this year.
“As you can see, we have compact the Electoral Act in a way that is understandable by everyone who is interested in it, and the only way to do that is through the media”.
The Executive Director explained that the centre’s relationship is to get out more people towards the 2027 general elections because, as he puts it, “To speak about elections, you must first and foremost understand the law”.
He said, “The way forward is to contribute to electoral education which we call civic or voter education, more and more voter or civic education”.
Nwagwu added, having visit sixteen states since the beginning of this year, I have been in a better position to tell you that interacting at town hall and in this kind of engagement, I am very clear that ignorance is a big challenge which need to be confronted”.
According to him, within the political parties, even the candidates themselves who are running the elections do not even know what the law says about the elections in which they were participants.
He expressed optimism that the training would pave the way for better understanding of key provisions of the act towards successful conduct of the electoral process.
According to him, it is also to ensure stronger media that would have the power to influence effective implementation of the Nations electoral process.
Also Speaking, the Programme officer PAACA, Mr Isiah Amonye charged Media practitioners to utilise the information acquired for onward transmission to the public.
The Programs Officer also stressed the need for Nigerians to fully understand the electoral act to enable them exercise their democratic rights better.
He said the training emphasized the importance of media in electoral education and included hands-on sessions to enhance their ability to produce influential content and deliver impactful training.
“With these new skills and knowledge, attendees are now better equipped to contribute to informed discussions and coverage of electoral reforms.”
He added that the training was organised to equip participants with the necessary knowledge and skills to effectively understand and communicate the provisions of the Electoral Act with a view to disseminating factual information.
