The Chairman, Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC), Aare Isiaka Abiola Olagunju, SAN, has assured the Nigerian Women Trust Fund of maximum support in its bid to embark on continuous voter education among women ahead of April 27th , 2024 Local Government Councils Election in the state.
The OYSIEC Chairman gave the assurance on Wednesday while hosting members of the organization during an advocacy visit to the Commission’s Headquarters, Agodi, Ibadan.
Olagunju explained that having more women in elective positions in Nigeria will play a significant role in the development of the country.
He described the move by the Nigerian Women Trust Fund as a good development, reiterating the readiness of the commission to assist the organization to achieve her goals and objectives.
“Let me inform you that we just concluded screening for chairmanship and councillorship candidates of political parties in the next local government councils election, and female candidates are not many.
“Your decision to embark on continuous voter’s education is a good development, the more women we have in government, the better.
“Let us know where to come in as a commission, and we will do the needful,” he added.
Earlier in her remarks, the Program Officer, the Nigerian Women Trust Fund, Abuja, Oluwatoyin Omoyemi, advocated for more women in governance and support for women vying for different positions in the forthcoming local government elections in Oyo State.
Oluwatoyin said the project tagged ‘Training of Trainers’ was targeted at creating awareness among women in Oyo state to aid early preparations for the next local government council election so as to vote massively on election day.
She hinted that twenty women would be picked randomly from twenty local governments and train them on voter’s education, saying it will be continuous, while beneficiaries are to train other women in their communities.
Oluwatoyin expressed optimism that the training will enable women to gain more insight into their rights as voters.
“We are glad that OYSIEC is willing to support and work closely with us to make this happen despite the short notice.
“We have visited IPAC and gotten five political parties to work with. The Step-Down will start by January 2024 and the basic requirements for participation are reading ability and good communication skills.
“Our target is to have more women at the decision-making table; we want women to be at the front burner.
“we want to raise awareness so that women can prepare themselves for election and elective positions, and I hope Oyo women will rally round women vying for different positions.“
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