Mr. Atedo Peterside, the President and Founder of Anap Foundation, a non-profit organisation committed to promoting good governance, has applauded President Muhammadu Buhari for signing the much-awaited Electoral Amendment Act of 2021.
The Electoral Amendment Act, which is a revised edition of the 2010 Electoral Act, includes a key provision for the electronic transmission of results by INEC.
In a tweet today, Peterside stated “Thank you, President Muhammadu Buhari, for signing into law an Electoral Act that constitutes a significant improvement over previous legislation. The GoNigeria Movement wishes to thank Mr. President, our Legislators, Civil Society, etc. for this team effort.”
He stated that the action is a great credit to President Buhari, who has demonstrated that the best interest of the nation should be paramount and topmost. The Electoral Act has been at the front burner of political discourse in the country in recent weeks.
Also, as part of his contribution to good governance, the erudite entrepreneur, economist and investment banker has initiated a Movement that has embarked on an enlightenment campaign to achieve much greater youth participation in the country’s electoral process. Named GoNigeria, the Movement is a major initiative of Anap Foundation. GoNigeria is quickly gathering momentum towards its mission of ensuring that young eligible Nigerians register en-masse for their voters’ cards and also vote for candidates of their choice in the 2023 General Elections.
The GoNigeria Movement kicked off with 18 Initial Advocates, who are drawn from the 6 geo-political zones (3 from each zone). GoNigeria expects to work closely with celebrities and other influencers who will be designated as Go Ambassadors. There will also be GoPartners, who will be corporate bodies eager to explore opportunities for co-branding with GoNigeria. Several youths are also joining the GoNigeria Movement as GoVolunteers to help amplify the messaging to other youths. Atedo
Peterside further explained that the youth enlightenment campaign is one of the surest ways of fighting voter apathy and urged youths to visit the GoNigeria website; www.GoNigeria.com for more information on how the Movement seeks to encourage young Nigerians to carry out their civic duty. Nigerians, aged from 18 to 34, constitute the main demographic as they are by far the largest voting block by age group. He urged youths to visit the INEC portal to register or request to update their voter’s information and thereafter complete the process physically (including biometrics) at designated centres, before the Commission’s June 2022 deadline. They should thereafter collect their Permanent Voter’s Cards in readiness for the 2023 General Elections, where they can influence outcomes significantly. He reiterated that the Nigeria that the youths deserve and desire will never arrive unless they constitute themselves into the dominant voting force in all future elections.