NOA moves to reduce invalid votes
The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has tasked stakeholders in the North West to ensure effective voter education so as to reduce cases of voided ballots tomorrow.
The director general of the agency, Dr. Garba Abari, who made this known during a two-day zonal workshop for citizens groups and other stakeholders on Civic and Voter Education, sponsored by the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), in Kaduna, Wednesday, said the workshop aimed at addressing the high number of rejected, invalid and void votes recorded in the last presidential and National Assembly elections.
Abari, who was represented by the NOA Project Director, Mr David Akoji, said the sensitisation and enlightenment has so far taken place in three zones with Kaduna hosting the fourth zonal workshop.
He said, “We have so many political parties and their symbols are similar so the voters needed to be enlightened on how to recognise the symbol of their choice party.
“We are working in our offices in the 774 local government areas; we are showing samples of the parties’ symbol on a large poster to enable the voter identify the one he wants to vote,” he said.
Kaduna State Head of Service (HOS) who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Office of Head of Service, Malam Ibrahim Jere, welcomed the idea of the workshop.
He said, “This should have taken place since, but we should repeat the process on and on. There are lots of people that don’t know how to vote. Kaduna State we have lots of commitments to voters education.
“This is not just about 2019 elections, but there are people who just turned 18, people should know who they want to elect and how to vote. This workshop can address the high number of invalid, voided votes we had in the last elections,” he said.
Also speaking, the Executive Director of African Center for Leadership Strategy and Development, Mr Monday Osasah, lamented the poor turnout that characterized the last presidential and National Assembly elections, and called for intense mobilization to cover the gaps noticed during the last polls.