*** 50 Youth Leaders Trained on Peaceful Electoral Conduct – By Beauty John
Enugu, Nigeria – Ahead of the upcoming general election, a non-governmental organisation, Global Peace Development (GPD), has inaugurated the Youth leaders Connect Platform and trained 50 youth leaders on non-violent elections.
The program, which took place on Wednesday in Enugu, brought together members of various youth-led associations, including National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and Youth Wing of Christian Association of Nigeria (YOWICAN) Enugu branch.
In her remark, the Project Officer, Ebruvwiyo Atagana explained that the initiative is part of the “Strengthening Youth Leaders Connect for Constructive Social Change in the Electoral Process in Enugu State” project, funded by the British Council with the objective to see that youths have increased knowledge of and stake in a non-violent electoral process and now engage effectively in a coordinated platform, using knowledge and influence to contribute to electoral fraud and violence mitigation in Enugu State.
“Today, we are inaugurating members of the Youth Leaders Connect platform who are leaders drawn from various youth associations to enhance their knowledge and capacity on leadership, policy advocacy, transparent electoral process and nonviolence elections using real-life situational approach.
“The purpose for this is to give youths a unified platform where they can assert their peer to peer influence to constructively influence 2023 elections and beyond, that ensures high voter turnout, credible and non-violent elections”, she said.
Also speaking, the Executive Director of GPD, Mr. Ebruke Onajite Esike, warned that the platform is not a political group, but is established to encourage youth engagement in the electoral process and to promote electoral integrity.
While highlighting the factors that contribute to electoral violence, Mr. Esike said that inequality, exclusion, and injustice are some of the key drivers. He added that curbing these factors can challenge corrupt political practices in the society.
The Executive Director charged young people not to sell their votes and avoid becoming instruments of greedy politicians. He urged them to use the platform to reinforce preventive measures targeting youth through voter education and sensitisation.
One of the beneficiaries of the training, Nenennia Joe Illoh thanked British Council and Global Peace Development for the initiative. According to her, the project had opened her mind to so many roles youths could play in the development of the society. “The training has also motivated and build my capacity to be a better leader”, she added.
With the Inauguration of Youth Leaders Connect Platform, GPD aims to promote peaceful and transparent elections in Enugu and to ensure that the youth play an active role in shaping the future of their communities and the country.
