Special Guests

Summary of the Meeting

The meeting started with an opening prayer led by Mallam Abdulrahman Dauda, a religious leader in Potiskum local government. The Community Journalist of Potiskum further gave an overview of the meeting objectives, introduced the Youth Awareness network, and highlighted the general goal and objectives of MyLga project.

The meeting went well and the major topic discussed includes the importance of voters’ card registration considering this upcoming election.  

The session went further to discuss major challenges/problems citizens face while registering and collecting their PVCs.

Critical Issues Raised During the Meeting

• The community members of Dogo Nini ward are finding it difficult to collect their PVC from the INEC office after the online registration due to the crowded nature of the INEC office.
• They also complained that the physically cramped individuals were not given the opportunity to register at the INEC office as it is assumed that they are underage, however, most of them are eligible voters.
• Also, the residents also complained that the INEC office for physical registration is very far away from their community so there is no essence of online pre-registration when individuals will still need to travel miles away for the biometrics 

Resolution

• • They requested the Government to bring back the system of Voters card registration at their various polling units, registration at the polling units will be easier to them to access to possess their PVC.

• The participants also proposed that the community members will collaborate with the INEC staff during the process of the voter’s card registration at the polling unit, this will enable them to register for those deserved.

Activity pictures

Summary of the Meeting

The town hall meeting was conducted at Buni Yadi headquarter of Gujba Local Government with 33 participants in attendance, including traditional rulers, religious leaders, CSO and some local government officials, among others. Some of the participants are from different areas of the local government headquarters. The meeting started at 10 am on a Monday morning, 23/5/2022, which lasted for one hour and 30 minutes. The meeting stopped at exactly 11:30am.

Critical Issues Raised During the Meeting

• We sensitized them on the importance of voter registration as we are approaching the 2023 general election and societal engagement in local governance. Other issues have been raised and discussed respectively. 
• With one voice, the participants appreciated the effort of the youth’s awareness network for a tremendous job well done in bringing them into the enlightened world. 

Resolution

A series of questions were asked by participants concerning voters’ registration, including how to transfer a voter card to a new residential address, as many of those that attended the meeting previously resided at Internally Displaced People’s (IDP) camps, which are far from their new addresses. All their questions were answered accordingly, and proper advice was given in that regard.

Activity pictures

Special Guests

Summary of the Meeting

The meeting commenced with opening remark and prayers followed by the highlight of the objectives of the project with explanation on the long term goals. The meeting focused on youth participation in elections and other civic activities, which can only be achieved when the citizens take voter registration and collection seriously.

During the session, there was a demonstration on how to go about the online pre-registration through the INEC portal (www.cvr.org.ng). 

Critical Issues Raised During the Meeting

1. Most communities are far away from the INEC office, so residents usually find it difficult to visit the INEC office to complete the physical registration.
2. The majority of voters are women, and the marginalization of women by previous elected public officers has contributed to the voter apathy of women in the community. As such, most women are not motivated to enrol for their voters’ registration or renewal of their damaged PVC. 
3. People have shown dissatisfaction and are tired of failed promises by the elected office holders. Thus, most of the residents are not motivated to get their PVCs as they assumed they were getting the cards to help the politicians in the election.

Resolution

• We need a registration center at the ward level to ease the CVR process. 
• The participants appreciated the programme and said it was very unique and the first of its kind.

Activity pictures

Special Guests

Summary of the Meeting

The town hall meeting was aimed at educating the citizens on the constitutional roles of local government and also mobilizing citizens to demand responsible government at all levels in order to promote transparency, accountability, and responsiveness in local government. The utmost objective is to educate the citizens on how they can engage their elected public office holders for community development. The town-hall meeting took place at the Maisandari Primary Healthcare premises. The meeting aimed to educate and orientate the public on the CVR process.

The meeting started with an opening prayer by Bintu Mustapha, a woman leader in the community, followed by an opening remark with an overview of mylga project. Further discussion was on impotence of the voters card and the role of citizens in democracy. The community journalist extensively discussed on the need to engage in massive awareness on PVC registration, renewal and collection as the deadline is fast approaching.

Mallam Mustapha Bulama, a community leader in Damaturu, briefly met us before the proper commencement of the meeting and assured us of his total support and commitment to being involved in mobilizing the people to register and collect their PVC.

Ms. Bintu Mustapha, a women’s leader in the community, also on behalf of the women, stressed the need for holding public office holders accountable, especially in regards to promises they made during their campaign.

Some participants also contributed as the session became very interactive, giving them an  equal opportunity to express their concerns. In the course of this, many issues were raised by the participants.

Critical Issues Raised During the Meeting

• The local government has not been carrying some of the stakeholders along during decision making processes that affect their lives.
• The participants noted that some of their political office holders present themselves in the community only during the campaign and would never be seen after being elected.
• For many years, their first priority need was neglected, i.e. drainage, which resulted in preventing their kids from going to school during the rainy season. 
• There is an unappealing marginization on scholarship opportunities and admission for their children to further their studies, especially in health-related courses.

Resolution

• The community agreed to make social contracts with aspirants of different political parties contesting for political offices, especially as the election is coming closer.
• They also agreed to be further involved in a massive campaign on PVCs as it is the only option left to decide on who should monitor their affairs. 

Activity pictures

Special Guests

Summary of the Meeting

It was the first community town hall meeting in the local government area. The participants were drawn from different wards within the local government area. The meeting commenced at exactly 9:00am, which was one of the reasons why female invitees couldn’t attend the meeting. The meeting started with an opening prayer, followed by an opening remark with an overview of the objectives of MyLGA project. The invitees fully participated and freely shared their ideas and opinions. 

Critical Issues Raised During the Meeting

• The need to intensify awareness on the CVR process
• The need to orientate citizens on local government engagement
•  The need for consultations on matters relating to peace building in the community 

Resolution

• Detailed explanations were provided by the community journalist on how to go about the PVC registration, transfer, and update of information on the INEC portal.
• The constitutional duties of the local government were highlighted to educate the citizens on what and how they should engage the local government in their community affairs.

Below are pictorial representations of the participants.          

Special Guests

Summary of the Meeting

After a  series of consultations, the Bade community town hall meeting was conducted on May 20,  2022 at Gwio-kura town in Gwio ward, Bade local government, Yobe state. The community leader, religious leader, youth leader, women’s leader, CBOs and PWD were in attendance at the meeting.

The community residents were sensitized on how to engage their community leaders, councilors, legislative and chairman to demand accountability and also how to report issues and monitor government projects around their community for effective service delivery.

The participants were also orientated on the importance of PVC registration and collection. The meeting also serves the purpose of providing relevant information on the CVR process, ranging from new registration, replacement of lost or damaged cards, and transfer of PVC

The community appreciated and welcomed the new development and also requested more of this type of project in their community.

Critical Issues Raised During the Meeting

• Stakeholders’ engagement

• PVC registration process 

• Challenges at the INEC registration center and how to contribute to a better solution at the community level
• Possible advocacy meeting to INEC offices to request for PVC registration at ward level  

Resolution

• The community CBOs and the youth leaders promised to volunteer their time and resources for the mobilization strategy for the community on CVR awareness and also assist with the online pre-registration.  

Below are pictorial representations of the participants.          

CITIZEN JOURNALIST: Aliyu Usman Dagona