The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, says it is determined to establish a partnership with the National Orientation Agency, NOA, to increase sensitisation of voters ahead of the November 8 governorship election in Anambra State and the country’s general election.
The INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, stated this when he received the Director General of the NOA, Mallam Lanre Issa Onilu, in Abuja.
He noted that the Commission would achieve that through its Voter Education and Publicity and other relevant departments, particularly with the recent creation by the Commission of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Division under the Information Communication Technology ICT Department.
“Another area where we need to strengthen our partnership is voter mobilisation. While we will continue its voter education efforts, the NOA should, working with other stakeholders such as the political parties, civil society organisations and the media, help in the area of voter mobilisation,” he stated.
The INEC Chairman stated that the aim was to increase voter turnout and greater participation of the under-represented demographics in the electoral process, particularly youths, women and persons with disabilities (PwDs).
“It is for this reason that NOA has been included in the expanded membership of our Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES); the Commission is also making efforts to revamp the National Inter-Agency Committee on Voter Education and Publicity (NICVEP), in which NOA will, again, play an active role,” Yakubu noted.
He noted that the nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) is scheduled to begin in about three weeks with the online pre-registration of voters on 18th August, followed by the in-person registration on 25th August 2025.
In his remarks, the Director General of the NOA, Mallam Lanre Issa Onilu, stated the commitment of the agency to partner with INEC in sensitising Nigerians to the importance of participating in the country’s electoral process.
He commended the INEC in deepening the democratic process through the conduct of credible elections in the country, stating that the agency would not relent in its efforts in ensuring that proper awareness is created for the citizens to participate in the country’s electoral process.
Confidence Okwuchi