The Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) in Delta state has said it is ready to partner with well-meaning organizations and institutions of government for the launch of the NaijaVotes: Make it count,” campaign.
Coordinator of the group in Delta state, Austine Okorodudu, stated this when he led other members on a courtesy call to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Asaba, the Delta state capital.
Okorodudu said the Naija Votes campaign which runs on the hashtag: #9jaVotes2019, is aimed at promoting voting with integrity, encourage truth and accuracy in information-sharing, boost voter participation, speak out against hate speech and inspire communities to reject violence.
The administrative secretary of INEC in the state, Mrs. Rose Oriarian-Anthony, who received the group on behalf of the commission, said she was very impressed with the impact of YALI in Nigeria and Africa in general.
While commending the YALI Delta team for the many lofty programmes and projects they have carried out across the state, Oriarian-Anthony gave the assurance that the commission was ready to partner with YALI in the state.
She further called on youths to take ownership of the democratic process in the country, saying: “We, as election managers, only handle 30% of the entire process. It is the youths that handle almost 70%.
“As you are aware, over the years, we have constantly employed the services of NYSC corps members. So the issue of credible elections largely depends on the youths, that is why we are very interested to partner with you on this campaign.
“The Nigerian youths must know that the future of this nation is in their hands to always make it better,” Oriarian-Anthony said.
She said there were over 300,000 yet to be collected PVCs in Delta state, urging YALI to include the PVC collection drive in their campaign.