Praise Chinecherem
The Catch Them Young Community Initiative (CATYCOI), a youth advocacy group, has intensified calls for greater involvement of young people in the electoral reform processes in Nigeria.
Executive Director of CATYCOI, Nonso Orakwe stated this during a recent meeting with Hon. Afamefuna Victor Ogene, the member representing Ogbaru Federal Constituency.
This visit is part of the group’s ongoing efforts to champion the #NaijaYouthElectoralDemands and YERP-Naija project.
YERP-Naija is a youth-led consortium supported by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The consortium collaborates with youth-focused organizations and networks across Nigeria to drive electoral reforms that reflect the aspirations of Nigerian youth.
Orakwe stated, “After persistent efforts, we successfully met with Hon. Ogene during an event organized by the Ogbaru community. We presented him with the top five priority recommendations for electoral reform. He acknowledged that the recommendations aligned with the ongoing priorities and deliberations in the National House of Representatives and expressed support for our initiative.”
Orakwe said the lawmaker has requested additional copies of the recommendations and assured continuous follow-up and collaboration on critical reform issues.
Project Manager, Israel Oji, emphasized the importance of youth participation in shaping democracy in Nigeria, noting that young people aged 18-34 makeup 39.65 percent of the nation’s 93.5 million registered voters.
He said the top five priority reforms aim to ensure a more transparent, fair, and inclusive electoral process for all Nigerians.
