On the 23rd February at FCT, the Nigeria National Association of the Deaf Youth Section (NNADYS) held her Pre-election Dialogue and Sensitization Workshop themed “The Nigerian Electoral Act: Promoting Participation of Voters with Disabilities”.
Funded by MacArthur Foundation and Ford Foundation, the sensitization workshop with 25 committed Nigerian Youths focused on understanding the challenges faced by voters with disabilities during elections and factors responsible for low turnout of youths during elections.
We discussed potential solutions to challenges identified as key tools for promoting effective participation of youths in accordance with the provisions of the emended Nigeria Electoral Act 2022 as well as politics and civic engagement.
The workshop had stakeholders from the Nigerian Deaf Community who took participants on different topics relating to INEC reports, voting and voting rights.
These stakeholders were, Hon Muhammad Haruna, Technical Assistant to the Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) who represented Dr. Chidi Olujie, Executive President of the Nigeria National Association of the Deaf (NNAD); Douglas Izuchukwu, Secretary of the World Federation of the Deaf Youth Section (WFDYS); Jeremiah Umar, Special Adviser to the Chairman of Abuja Municipal Council as well as Amb. Ebuka Okeke, National Youth Leader of NNAD and Miss. Esther Abimbola, YALI RLC Alumnus.
Achieving an all-round inclusive electoral process as one of our goals, we sensitized participants on their rights using the Nigeria Disability Act 2018 and Electoral Act 2022 and urged them to sensitize others in their community with the view of fostering youths participation in political activities for a sustainable future.
