2019 Elections: NGO begins massive enlightenment of electorate

The League of Democratic Women (LEADS Nigeria), says it has embarked on massive enlightenment of the electorate ahead of the 2019 general elections, to guarantee the success of the polls.

Mrs Rebecca John, the Executive Director of LEADS said on Friday in Kaduna that part of the enlightenment programme included the distribution of manuals to guide voters in making informed choices.

“The manual will serve as a guide to citizens as well as strengthen their engagement in the electoral process of the country”, she said in a message delivered on her behalf by Mr Daniel Abah, a Programme Officer.

The executive director explained that the manual, which would be distributed to communities, would arm voters with knowledge on the Dos and Don’ts of the election process.

According to her, the organisation has commenced the distribution of the manual in six local government areas of Kaduna State and has organised workshop for stakeholders as part of the enlightenment process.

John who listed the local governments as Kaduna North, Lere, Sanga, Kajuru, Zangon Kataf and Sabongari, urged the beneficiaries to disseminate the knowledge acquired to their community members for wider awareness on voting issues.

”I hereby urge you not to read and keep the knowledge to yourself alone, endeavour to share your knowledge to others so as to achieve maximum benefit of democracy,” she said.

Meanwhile, some beneficiaries who received the manual commended the initiative describing it as a huge development in promoting democracy.

An eligible voter, Mr Friday Iyah from Zangon Kataf commended LEADS for the initiative, saying that it would be a proper guide to voters ahead of the 2019 general elections.

On his part, Umar Hussain from Sabongari pledged to make copies of the document and share it to eligible voters in his community.

The manual was developed with the support of a group, Strengthening of Citizen’s Engagement in Electoral Processes (SCEEP), as well as Actionaid Nigeria, BBC Media Action and UK Aid.