The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has expressed willingness to partner with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and other stakeholders toward curbing vote-buying in Nigeria, ahead of 2023 poll.
The Director-Deneral, NOA, Dr Garba Abari, said this when he declared open a capacity building training for members of staff in Abuja.
This is contained in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday by NOA’s Assistant Director, Press, Mr Paul Odenyi.
Odenyi said that Abari was represented by the Director, Special Duties and State Operations, Mrs Mette Edekobi at the event.
He quoted Abari as saying that the agency would leverage on its existing relationship with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to keep Nigerians well informed on the 2023 general elections.
According to him, NOA, in line with its mandate, is poised to lead the charge of voter education, sensitisation and mobilisation ahead of the elections.
The director-general tasked members of staff to be ready at all times to communicate essential electoral information to Nigerians using various conventional and unconventional channels.
According to him, NOA will also be at the forefront of combating fake news and hate speech which are bound to be on the rise during the electioneering period.
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“We will discourage electoral violence and ensure free, fair and credible elections, come 2023,’’ Abari said.
He said that the training would be cascaded to the State Directorates and Local Government Offices of the agency to ensure uniformity of preparedness.
He expressed optimism that with massive deployment of members of staff on voter sensitisation duties across the country, Nigerians would have a better informed electoral outing that would help deepen the nation’s democracy.
(NAN)
