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By Chukwuma Umeorah
The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has raised concerns over the lack of comprehension among political parties regarding the significance of the new Electoral Act, 2022, as the governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi states draw near.
The Director-General of NOA, Garba Abari, at a review meeting in Lagos, for Civil Societies and observers of the 2023 general elections, and in preparation for November off-cycle governorship elections, highlighted various challenges that may hinder the polls and emphasized the need for increased awareness and participation to ensure a smooth electoral process.
According to him, “The major players which are the politicians and their parties do not appear to understand the full importance of the new Electoral Act 2022 and the importance of the deployment of technology in the elections.
“It is against this backdrop that the NOA in line with our mandate set out to mobilize Nigerians to turn out en masse to register and participate in all electoral processes. Our nationwide voter education campaign focuses on discouraging votes buying/selling and engendering the guidelines and provisions of the new Electoral Act, promoting issue-based campaigns, ensuring that prospective voters have adequate knowledge and discouraging electoral violence.”
Abari who was represented by Head of ICT and social media at NOA, Jessica Akiga acknowledged the progress made in Nigeria’s electoral process, noting that while it may not have reached its desired state, it had certainly evolved from its previous state.
Other areas of concern by NOA, were the fear of potential violence, exacerbated by the misuse of social media platforms to spread false information and hate speech, trust deficit, logistics among others.
Additionally, the conduct of politicians during their campaigns was deemed counterproductive to maintaining a peaceful atmosphere.
“It is important at this time to point out a few concerns about the coming governorship elections in the three states, Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo state. There is a general fear of possible violence, the media, especially social media, continues to be agents of spreading lies, hate speech and misinformation to the people.
“The conduct of the politicians themselves as they go about their campaigns does not help matters either.” Specifically, he noted that reaching the creeks in Bayelsa may be a problem especially now that the raining and communities fear that they may not be able to vote.
“Furthermore, despite the success of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation Machine (BVAS), many still fear that their votes will not count. This is actually a trust issue which all of us must come together to address so that apathy towards the elections is discouraged,” he said.
Abari stressed the agency’s commitment to enhancing the overall atmosphere of election management in the country while acknowledging the valuable role played by observers and monitors accredited by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), comparing them to mirrors that reflect INEC’s performance during and after elections.
He expressed gratitude for collaborations with stakeholders such as the media, religious leaders, traditional institutions, and women’s groups.
