Nasarawa State Independent Electoral Commission (NASIEC) has requested assistance from the European Union Support for Democracy and Good Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) in order to hold a local government election on October 6, 2021.
Mr. Hamza Fassi-Fihri, the EU-Project SDGN’s Coordinator, stated this in Lafia, the state capital, during a one-day EU-SDGN training of NASIEC staff and journalists on election administration, conflict management, and media and communication in preparation for the state’s upcoming council elections.
“EU-SDGN believes in improving local elections because they are the closest to citizens,” said the project coordinator. We are honored that NASIEC has requested our technical assistance in conducting these local elections, which are the most representative of citizens’ realities.
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“At this level, elected officials must be accessible, as citizens have the first platforms of engagement with their representatives that will facilitate constructive dialogue. And they’ll work together to find immediate solutions to their constituents’ problems.
“Most of our goals are to provide stakeholders with opportunities as professionals in order to ensure a smooth democracy of the electoral process.”
The overall goal of the training, according to Fassi-Fihri, was to teach general concepts and considerations about best practices in election administration and institutional communication.
“The presence of the media is also important because this meeting allows them to learn more about activities surrounding an electoral event, understand the processes, and be best informed on the electoral constraints and context of operations, particularly ahead of the local government elections,” he says.
The NASIEC Chairman, Mr. Ayuba Wandai, said in his welcome address that the training was organized at his request to train stakeholders, including journalists, on election administration.
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He thanked EU-SDGN for footing the bill for the training and urged all participants to put what they learned during the training into practice, as well as after the state’s upcoming council elections.
