By Philip Ezuma, Port Harcourt
The European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU SDGN), has called on government agencies, Civil Society Organisations CSOs and other stakeholders in the country to start engaging and sensitizing the populace ahead of time in preparation of the 2027 general Emelections.
The Consulting Manager of Save Our Souls SOS Children’s Villages, David Gabriel made the call, while addressing journalists, yesterday in Port Harcourt, at a Town Hall meeting with Community stakeholders in Obio/Akpor and Port Harcourt Local Government areas of of Rivers.
The SOS Children’s Village Consultant said the essence of the Town Hall meeting is to review the 2023 general elections and the recently conducted Local Government elections in the State to harvest outcomes and feedback from community structures, and community members, who were at the grassroots level and interfaced with grassroots structures on what they were able to do and their Contributions towards those else, that led to the peaceful conduct of elections in the state.
Gabriel so spoke to newsmen shortly after the meeting and explained that engaging the citizenry meant deepening engagement with students in Secondary Schools, students in Universities and change agents
He said “What the Eu-SDGN is recommending is that we have to start engaging now not when the next election is approaching. When we say start engaging now, it means we have to deepen our engagement with students in Secondary School, Students in Universities, because some of them who are currently in these schools would be of voting age by 2027. So we don’t start this process by six months or one year to the next election circle. It is something that we have to start now”.
“We also have to deepen our engagement with what we have identified today in the course of this meeting as Change agents. People who we know as change agents because some of them are used by people who don’t love Democratic processes to cause mayhem, cause violence in the society. So what we have agreed here going forward as a group, as stakeholders is to deepen our engagement with these change agents. So that come 2027, they will not be on the other side of the divide.”
