The Independent National Electoral Commission and the National Orientation Agency have pledged to strengthen their collaboration on public sensitisation and mobilisation to increase voter participation during elections.

The commitment was made when NOA director-general, Lanre Issa-Onilu, paid a courtesy visit to the INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, in Abuja.

In his remarks, Mr Yakubu stated that INEC’s mandate of conducting elections and electoral activities could not be effectively discharged without the advocacy and sensitization of citizens, for which NOA is a central institution.

Mr Yakubu expressed INEC’s readiness to work with NOA, especially ahead of the November 8 Anambra governorship election and future elections, as well as the forthcoming nationwide continuous voter registration, which is set to commence on August 18.

He commended the agency’s significant strides aimed at informing and engaging Nigerians, particularly the youth.

These, according to him, include “national virtual hackathons” and the ‘NOA Content Factory’ dedicated to creating and disseminating information through NOA TV, NOA Radio, and ‘The Explainer Newsletter’.

“Your commitment to fostering AI-Powered Data Management is a very good opportunity for targeted strategic communication.

“I would like us to explore further areas of partnership through our voter education and publicity and other relevant departments, particularly with the recent creation by the commission of an artificial intelligence Division under our ICT department. Another area where we need to strengthen our partnership is voter mobilisation,” Mr Yakubu said.

He explained that while INEC would continue its voter education efforts, NOA should work with political parties, civil society organisations, the media, and other stakeholders on voter mobilisation.

“The aim is to increase voter turnout and greater participation of the under-represented demographics in our electoral process, particularly youths, women, and persons with disability,” Mr Yakubu added.

He said that NOA had been included in the expanded membership of INEC’s Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security for this reason.

“The commission is also making efforts to revamp the National Inter-Agency Committee on Voter Education and Publicity in which NOA will, again, play an active role,” Mr Yakubu said.

Earlier in his remarks, the NOA chief executive, Mr Issa-Onilu, emphasised the need for joint efforts to address the lack of awareness regarding the mandates of INEC and NOA at the grassroots level across the country.

He expressed his appreciation to INEC for the opportunity to collaborate.

(NAN)