The one-day town hall meeting was organized by Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA) with support from MacArthur Foundation.
By Ofem Christiana
A citizens’ town hall meeting on electoral reform has ended in Calabar, the Cross River State capital. It was held on the 22nd of April 2024 at Marian Hotels, Ndidem Usang Iso (Marian) Road, Calabar Municipal.
The one-day town hall meeting was organized by Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA) with support from MacArthur Foundation. The objective is to foster inclusive dialogue among citizens from varied backgrounds concerning electoral reform and constitutional amendment, enhance public understanding and awareness regarding electoral reform, and compile and present citizen-derived recommendations to the National Assembly and INEC for consideration.
The event began with a welcome address by Mr. Ezenwa Nwagwu, the Executive Director of PAACA. He emphasized that “the Nigerian Constitution is the one that empowers INEC to conduct elections and to make regulations and guidelines. As citizens, we need to find out what is in the INEC guidelines to be able to make sensible comments about elections.”
Mr. Ezenwa urged everyone to have a copy of the Electoral Act 2022 to enable “us to know the laws governing elections. When we understand these laws we will appreciate the security agencies, INEC officials, and every other stakeholder handling the electoral processes, for their official responsibilities are captured in that law. PAACA is working together with the MacArthur Foundation and other civil society agencies to make sure the people have a clear understanding of these laws and electoral processes.”
On his part, while presenting a remark, the Cross River State Director of the National Orientation Agency (NOA) Mr. Ibor Otu thanked the organizers of the event. He went further to urge participants to fully share their opinions to ensure the town hall meeting is a success.
Relatively, the State Commissioner of Police, CP Augustine Grimah represented by Assistant Commissioner of Police, Kabiru Ibrahim thanked the organizers and reiterated the commitment of the Police to secure Nigerians.
The event featured a panel session on understanding electoral reforms moderated by Mr. Ezenwa Nwagwu, the Executive Director of PAACA. It also had breakout sessions where stakeholders were divided into four groups to brainstorm on electoral integrity and transparency, voter education and participation, electoral system reform, and electoral legal framework and institutional reform.
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