Group decries Public Ignorance of Electoral Law, attributes it to shoddy outcomes

By Ahmed Rufa’i, Dutse

The Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA), a Non Governmental Organization (NGO) has decried the poor knowledge of the electoral law among Nigerians, which it has attributed to the shoddy outcomes of elections

The organization made the observation through it’s executive director, Mr Ezenwa Nwagwu in a speech delivered at a one day town hall citizens meeting at Tashir Guest Palace in Dutse, Jigawa state.

Election stakeholders gathered at the townhall to be enlightened on the need for everyone to be abreast with the knowledge of the electoral law.
The executive director in his speech explained that, it is the reasons the group, PAACA, embarked on the massive public enlightenment on the electoral law for better understanding and the legal dos and don’ts on election processes in Nigeria.

The group which is being supported by the MacArthur Foundation urged all Nigerians of electoral age to own and study the electoral law thoroughly to fully become aware of the election process in order to give their maximum contribution to the electoral reformat for strong and better democracy.

The PAACA said it is the reason it has resolved to organize a stakeholders meeting on the subject matter to brief and enlighten them on the electoral law and why thr public must know and understand it’s contents.

Mr Nwagwu, said “Jigawa is the 5th state where such citizens sensitization meeting has held and it’s going to be continuous to cover all states of the federation”.

The executive director explained that, the purpose for organizing the meeting is to interact with stakeholders and encourage them to keep them fully aware of the electoral law so that everyone can contribute his/her quota towards electoral reformation.

According to him “democracy has come to stay in Nigeria and inadequate knowledge of the electoral law by the general public is causing so many set backs before, during and after election”.

He started further that “The objectives of the meeting is to Foster inclusive dialogue among citizens from varied backgrounds concerning electoral reform and constitutional amendment. “Enhancing public understanding and awareness regarding electoral reform and to compile and present citizen-drived recommendations to the national Assembly and INEC for consideration” the executive director said.

Some of the recommendation made by the participants include strengthening internal democracy, more voter education and faster punishment for electoral offenders to serve as deterrent to others.

The participants also recommended extension of electoral petition deadline from 21 days to give enough time for filing comprehensive petitions as well as improving the election process for people with disabilities to participate in the election.

The executive director also commended the participants for the recommendation as he assured that PAACA as voice of the voiceless will do all their best to forward the recommendation to the relevant stakeholders for consideration.