21st March 2023 | Community Town Hall Meeting
Special Guests:
Citizen Journalist: Jimoh Bankole
Summary of the Meeting
The town hall meeting was aimed at educating the citizens on the constitutional roles of local government officials. The meeting also provided a platform for people to ask questions on matters that affect them, strengthening the capacity of citizens to advance government accountability at the local government level.
This month’s meeting was used to sensitize, educate and mobilize the citizenry to take advantage of the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) Exercise to register, update and collect their Permanent Voters Card (PVC). The citizen journalist gave a breakdown analysis of how to go about the registration and the age that is eligible to partake in the exercise, his further explanation includes how to recover a lost card, damaged card, and cases of card transfer for relocation purposes. The CJ advised the residents to use the opportunity of the CVR devolution to the ward levels to register for their PVC. The CJ further discussed the importance of PVC as the power the citizens wield to determine who will pilot the leadership of the state through the ballot box. The citizens were discouraged from selling their PVCs or being paid to vote for a certain politician during elections. The people were very happy to hear these messages and pledged their support in positively contributing democratic process. They also vow to register for PVC and obtain their card.
Critical Issues Raised During the Meeting
- Lack of basic provisions for retired people,
- lack of potable water,
- Poor electricity supply
- Women that work on farms suffered the invasion of Fulani Herdsmen
Resolution
- The citizens agreed to continue to use the various opportunities available to engage the local government and councilors to express their grievances to the government.
- The citizens resorted to working cooperatively with men of the Amotekun and Vigilante squad in the various communities.
Lessons for Future Engagements
- We should create more time for the question and answer season during the town hall meetings.
- Working more with community institutions such as churches, mosques, traditional leaders, and other opinion groups will help in providing lasting solutions to national issues.
Below are pictorial representations of the participants.
