The Executive Director, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom Nigeria (WSRN), Hope Okoye, Friday, said they would deploy 30 women to observe elections across the 21 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Anambra State.

Okoye, who stated this at a capacity training for media practitioners on gender based reporting and Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) law, added that they would open a Situation Room for the purpose of the election.

According to her, WSRN has trained observers that would help to feed in the situation room with electoral contents especially as it concerns women.

“We trained observes. We have toll lines. We will open a Situation Room where election contents will come in. 30 election observers will be sent to 21LGAs to monitor the situation and report back through toll lines. Anambra State is among ten States and FCT where WSRN is monitoring election in the State. We will look at it from gender perspective to see how it affects genders,” she noted.

While speaking, the resource person Mrs Ify Unachukwu urged the media to work with WSRN and other civil society organisations (CSOs) to professionally fight for prevention of gender based violence in the country.

Unachukwu stated that it was important to synergize with the media in stopping GBV because they set agenda for the people, aside their cardinal objectives to inform, educate and entertain.

“Media can set agenda by creating contents on radio, television or print. They can use different kinds of programmes, editorials, news and others to educate people and discourage gender based violence. The media should reshape the way people think, reason or view things. You should report ethically to avoid using your reports to kill,” she noted.

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The Nammbo Support Group and All Progressives Congress, APC Protection Group have launched a book containing the strategies to which the APC Presidential Candidate, Bola Tinubu can win the APC Presidential election in Nigeria.

The book which was launched in Abuja is titled “Structures and Strategies for winning 2023 General Election”

The Author of the book, Professor Dahida Philip said Mr. Tinubu’s plan to create local development authority is what motivated him to support Tinubu.

“When Asiwaju was the governor of Lagos State, he created sub-units style of development all the way from the grassroots levels. He created almost 37 local development areas. And if you look at his concept of development, the government is being strengthened from the bottom. And any country that wants to develop their economy, you must locate the natural and mineral resources within every locality, treat based on potential and then harness it. So having that aspect redefined and planning to create a local development authority I believe he has the political will to bring about development from the bottom up. That was one of the first inspirations that made me to start canvassing votes for him.” he explained.

Professor Philip explained that the book is aimed at bridging a gap in APC’s plans to win the 2023 General Election.

“In every given election, you must have to develop certain strategies, those strategies must be documented and I discovered that there was a gap in the party’s plans in APC and when I came on board, I decided to draw a road map clearly stated and bringing some of the salient features on how I am going to bring on board some of the strategies on how to win election” he said.

In his good will message at the event, Nigeria’s Minister for Special Duties, George Akume said Mr. Tinubu is someone that builds people to become leaders.

He advised Tinubu supporters to inform voters that Tinubu not only has the capacity to lead Nigeria but that he also had the capability.

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has explained that the migration of some voters from more populated to less populated polling units is to prevent the congestion that usually makes voting cumbersome on election day.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Oyo State, Dr Adeniran Tella, stated this while briefing newsmen on the activities of the Commission in the state, as regards the redistribution of some voters to new polling units.

The REC recalled that the Commission had, in 2021, successfully expanded voter access to polling units from the initial number of 4,783 by converting the then 1,607 voting points into full fledged polling units that now make the total number of 6,390 polling units in the state.

Tella stated: “The Commission, in exercising its powers under Section 40(2) of the Electoral Act, 2022 has allotted voters from overcrowded polling units within the same axis to promote a more pleasant and stress free voting experience on election day. The exercise requires that redistribution of voters to new polling units has been done in proximate locations.

“In other words, the Commission has moved some voters from populated to less populated polling units. This is to make up to the threshold of 750 voters per polling unit, putting into consideration their proximity from one another on election day,” he disclosed.

Tella also pointed out that the name of the polling units with migrated voters had already been pasted in all the affected 28 Local Government Areas of the state, comprising 815 polling units, so as to see and at the same time be well informed ahead of the polls.

He said the exercise, which was done in consultation with all the stakeholders in the electioneering process, would allow for transparency in the electoral process ahead of the forthcoming elections.

The REC noted that eligible voters could also visit the INEC voters’ verification system on www.cvr.inecnigeria.org/vvs or voters.inecnigeria.org to check their names on the register of voters and could, at the same time, confirm the location of their polling units, where they would vote on election day.

Tella used the opportunity of the briefing to reiterate that, the use of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), for voter accreditation and verification on election day, had come to stay.

He further stated that the use of INEC Result Viewing Portal (IRev) to upload polling units’ results using www.inecelectionresults.ng to view the uploaded election results had become part of the new technology of the Commission, urging all eligible voters to come out to vote on election day with their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs).

Tella hinted that the Commission would soon come up with an update on the total number of registered voters for the coming elections, including the total number of collected and uncollected PVCs in the state.

He implored the people of the state to cooperate with the Commission to ensure hitch free, credible and inclusive general elections in the state.

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