A three-day Stakeholders’ validation forum in Anambra State has ended with a call on election stakeholders to be alive to their responsibilities towards achieving the conduct of a peaceful 2025 Governorship Elections, improved democratic participation, and reducing political tensions.
The stakeholders’ validation forum, which also featured strategic advocacy visits, was organized by the Kukah Centre, Secretariat of the National Peace Committee (NPC) under the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN).
In the course of the three-day event, stakeholders from Anambra North, Anambra South, and Anambra Central Senatorial zones, including community leaders, religious leaders, the INEC, the media, security agencies, and other state and non-state actors, took turns to validate findings from a context analysis conducted across the state.
This is with a view to fostering their collective buy-in for peaceful and inclusive elections by strengthening trust and joint responsibility.
The exercise was also targeted to generate practical recommendations for early warning systems, peace messaging, and stakeholder coordination.
Addressing the forum, the Project Manager at Kukah Centre, Barr Asabe Ndahi, observed that the reports raised concerns about voter apathy in Anambra State, occasioned by a lot of factors, including insecurity, lack of trust in the electoral process, among others.
She revealed that the forum had helped elicit promises from the stakeholders that they will adequately mobilize their people to participate in the elections.
“We observed that there is serious voter apathy and have encouraged all the stakeholders to convince people who are under their spheres of influence to participate, believing that they will play their role in the exercise.
“The Kukah centre is the Secretariat of the National Peace Committee. So, while the Peace Committee will be coming to sign the Peace Accord a few days to the elections, we want to do this groundwork, to ensure that before the elections proper, the stakeholders begin to welcome the idea of peaceful and credible elections and play an active role in achieving that.
“We are also taking back recommendations from the State to the National Peace Committee as the opinion of stakeholders here, and we believe that these recommendations will be actionable,” she posited.
The Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning officer of the Centre, Deborah Obafemi, revealed that the Kukah Centre is interested in interventions that continually promote good governance, leadership development, memory preservation, and also different human rights.
According to her, the Centre aims to maintain its position in supporting peace-building and peaceful elections to the fullest extent possible.
In her words, “This process is the beginning of a phase. We will also be having the signing of the Peace Accord as the election draws closer. We also have the election security information hub, responsible for gathering insight and data on election security across Nigeria.
“As we round up this forum, we are not just departing. We will also ensure that we continue to have conversations with the stakeholders we have engaged with these three days, to identify developments and make inputs towards addressing them.
“Overall, the objective is to achieve a peaceful and credible Anambra Governorship Election.”
In his remarks, the traditional ruler of Ifitedunu in Dunukofia Council Area of the state, Igwe Prof Chukwuemeka Ilouno, observed that laws to drive the peaceful conduct of elections are not in short supply in the country, but said the challenge is with their implementation.
He emphasized the need for traditional rulers to be adequately involved in civic education and sensitization activities, as grassroots leaders, so that community members can be well-informed about their responsibilities for societal progress.
For Sir Chuka Nnabuife, who is the Managing Director of the Anambra State Civic and Social Reformation Office of the Governor, ANCISRO, the program aligns with the mandate of the ANCISRO towards sensitizing the citizenry to be alive towards their civic responsibility of participating in the electoral processes that bring about leadership across different levels of governance.
He opined that the current political atmosphere in Anambra is one of both positive expectation and anxiety, emphasizing the need for stakeholders to deepen voter education messages in their localities.
A representative of the Disability Community at the event, Miss Chidinma Ajemba, expressed appreciation to the Kukah Centre and the partners for the engagements, which she said have been fruitful in impressing on the stakeholders the need to pursue peace as the election approaches.
