| A nongovernmental organisation, Lugard Youth Development and Empowerment Initiative (LYDEI), has called on political parties in the country to organise programmes that will create enabling environment for the conduct of violence free election in 2023.
The executive director of LYDEI, Mr. Okwutepa Aminu Oseni, made the call Tuesday at a one- day event to celebrate the 2022 International Youth Day in Lokoja, capital of Kogi state. He said the call on political parties to be proactive ahead of 2023 general elections became imperative to curb the incessant electoral violence that often deviled the conduct of elections in the country. “I advise political parties, youth leaders to organise programmes and activities for young people in their political parties to stop hate speech and fake news on social media and promote issue based campaign to promote their candidate ahead of the 2023 general elections, ” he said. Speaking on the theme of the celebration, “Intergenerational solidarity: creating a world for all ages, Setting Agenda for youth and women political participation,” the executive director stated that synergy of youth creativity, technology innovation in the 21th century and the experience of old generation would strengthen peace and stability of the nation’s democratic journey if well harnessed. He charged the old generation of politicians in the country on the need to show measurable commitment for the voices of the youth to be heard in the governance of the country. “The importance of this gathering cannot be over emphasised because of the role young people play in our electoral process in Nigeria. This programme is designed for us to learn from the old generation, make reflection, share ideas on how we can improve our political participation ahead of 2023 general elections,” he said. |