… Yiaga lament low youth candidacy, canvass support in upcoming election
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that within 10 days it would release a preliminary voters register, which would inform citizens on the location they are expected to cast their vote in the coming election.

Public Affairs Officer, INEC Lagos, Nike Oriowo, Representing Honourable Resident, Electoral Commissioner, Lagos State, Sam Olumekunmni, calling on citizens to take advantage of the information to avoid last minute rush, noted that the register would be displayed across the nation on November 12.

This was disclosed at the Run to Win Townhall meeting, organised by Yiaga Africa, in partnership with Voice, yesterday in Lagos.

She emphasised that youths should equip themselves with the right information especially on electoral matters and laws.
According to her, with the concluded Continous Voters Registration (CVR) there was a high number of youth turn out, which indicates that there is a change.

She urged political parties to encourage more grassroot participation, engagement and others.

Worried by the reduction in youth candidacy for 2023 elections as against that of 2019, Programmes Manager, Yiaga Africa, Ibrahim Faruk, stressed that political parties must be aware that there is a huge youth population interested in their activities.

He noted that according to their findings, there was a decline from 34 per cent in 2019 election to 28 per cent in the coming 2023 election.

“For us that’s a worrying trend, because it means that youth representation is likely to reduce and that is why we must ensure that the young people who have emerged as candidates receive as much support as possible,” he said.

Faruk stressed on the importance of young candidates to equip themselves with the information contained in the new electoral act.

He noted that Yiaga Africa is working with Young Lawyers Forum from the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to organise specialised training for young candidates who might not fully understand some of the new provisions and those who might have some legal issues on their candidacy or after the elections.

“The project in partnership with Voice, an arm of Oxpharm, focused on Abuja, Lagos and Enugu, to create awareness around candidacy of the youths and building support for them,” he added.

Run To Win is a campaign dedicated to supporting young women and men with competence, capacity, and character to contest and win elections in Nigeria. Borne from the demands of the Not Too Young to Run campaign, the Run to Win campaign is designed to support youth political aspirants to run issue-based campaigns, win elections and occupy elective offices.