The Centre for Journalism, Innovation and Development (CJID) has urged young people in Osun State to participate actively in Saturday’s governorship election and ensure that their participation is peaceful.

The Programme Manager, Accountability Programme of CJID, Amina Miango, made the call during a youth town hall organised to discuss elections, youth participation and governance ahead of the August 15 governorship poll.

Miango said the organisation had earlier held a similar town hall in Ekiti State in June, bringing together more than 100 young people to discuss issues surrounding elections and governance.

She said the initiative was extended to Osun because of the significant number of young people among registered voters in Nigeria and concerns over declining youth participation in elections.

She described the Osun governorship election as an important indicator ahead of the 2027 general elections, urging stakeholders to pay attention to the level of youth participation.

Miango expressed satisfaction with the level of participation at the Osun town hall but said more young people needed to be reached.

According to her, “Town hall meetings provide an opportunity to identify the factors discouraging young people from participating in elections and explore ways of improving their involvement in democratic processes.

“When you look at the demographics of registered voters in Nigeria, young people have the highest number of registered voters. But when you also look at participation, fewer and fewer young people are participating.

“In June, we held a town hall in Ekiti, where we brought together over 100 young people to discuss issues around elections, youth participation and governance. We thought it was very important to also do the same for young people in Osun State.

“We think town halls like this bring to the fore important issues around participation, why young people are not participating and how we can improve youth participation in elections.

“We cannot build a prosperous community if young people do not participate. I think we are able to do more, but we will continue to do our best to bring young people together to discuss issues like this.

“Osun is basically a precursor to what we will have in 2027. So, please, everybody should go out and vote peacefully and participate peacefully. I hope that more young people come out to vote this time around.

“Osun is the last election we have before the 2027 general election. We want to see the numbers coming out of this election so that we know what we can target for 2027,” she said.