An NGO, Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa, PAACA) has attributed the current development issues confronting the nation to lack of citizen participation in the political process.
The Executive Director of PAACA, Ezenwa Nwagwu gave this charge during a Citizens Town Hall Meeting on Electoral Reform, held at Aaron’s Suits and Apartment, Ibusa Street, Independence Layout Enugu.
The PAACA chief executive noted that federal allocations are accruing to the states and local governments on monthly basis as well as the internally generated revenue yet the citizens lives are not touched but they keep mum.
He said that rather than hold the governors, assembly members and council chairmen accountable, the leaders divert their attention to the federal government.
“We don’t have active citizens that will tell the government where it is not getting it right. Politicians shift attention from them to focus on Abuja.
“Allocations come and there is the IGR but we are not talking about it, instead we tend to praise the people in power. The lives of citizens are not touched. Our common enemy is not Abuja but people that are representing us at the houses of assembly and the local government,” he points out.
According to him, for the society to move on the media must collaborate with the Civil Society Organisations, CSOs.
Speaking on the Electoral Reform, Nwagwu posited that the people needed to be educated on the electoral process to ensure free and fair election as well as curb voter apathy.
He lamented that many Nigerians do not have a copy of the electoral act and therefore are ignorant of the electoral process.
“There is a need for electoral education. Most people don’t have a copy of the Electoral Act. Leaders have to be equipped with the knowledge to guide elections. Misinformation leads to deception,” he declared.
He said that political parties should be held responsible for not conducting credible elections because they do not do what they should do.
“Political parties are not doing their work well. When election results are not uploaded on INEC portal, they should cry out but they expect the media and CSOs to do the crying for them.
Political parties should be held responsible for bad conduct of elections,” he indicated, adding that IPAC is not living up to expectation.
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