From Lawrence Nwimo, Awka
Fourteen youths from Anambra State are set to champion groundbreaking campaigns focused on electoral reform and various other social issues plaguing the society.
The youths, during the weekend, were trained and empowered with relevant skills to conduct advocacy and push for youth-led electoral reform projects in the state and country.
The workshop organized by Catch Them Young Community Initiative (CATYCOI), a nonpartisan and nongovernmental organization, was funded by Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI) supported by Canada Funds for Local Initiatives.
The Executive Director of CATYCOI, Hon. Nonso Orakwe, said the plan was to prepare the youth to drive change that will address pressing concerns, such as electoral violence, voter apathy, disenfranchisement, and the manipulation of the electoral process.
"It was a simulation exercise that is poised to bring young people of the southeast region to continue conversation on how best we can achieve our electoral reform which is trending now at the National and State Assemblies.
"Our top five priority reforms aim to ensure a more transparent, fair, and inclusive electoral process. The priorities are best recommendations from young Nigerians geared towards addressing concerns in the electoral system.
Continuing, he said: "The Nigeria electoral system is marred with a lot of irregularities. Now, with the recommendations, we are at the verge of advocating for this electoral reform to be passed as a bill and to also become a law in the country.
Orakwe further stated that youths had been meeting their targets, including stakeholders such as legislators at the National Assembly. He added that they had also engaged with State Assembly members, informing them that the bill would eventually come before them for consideration.
Orakwe maintained that the objective remained to provide young people with opportunities for personal development and to encourage them to initiate community projects.
Earlier, the Programmes Manager at CATYCOI, Israel Orji, explained that the event was a Physical Community Action Simulation Plan designed to reinforce the skills of the participants and to emphasize the importance of proactive engagement, given the magnitude of the tasks ahead.
"The training is geared towards building the next generation of activists. The participants are aged 35 and below, and were selected from various groups, organizations, and communities.
"The training is part of a broader initiative to train 70 youths across the southeast zone, with 14 participants from Anambra State," he said.