“Youths need to take decisive steps to rewrite the narrative of election in Bayelsa State.”
Ahead of the governorship election in Bayelsa State slated for November 16, 2019, a non-profit organisation, Fostering Achievement of Community Empowerment, has organised a sensitisation programme for youths in the state.
The initiative, which was part of events marking the 2019 International Youth Day, drew youths from the eight local government areas of the state including security operatives, representatives of the National Orientation Agency, who all advised youths against violence during and after election.
Speaking during the event in Yenagoa, the state capital, on Thursday, Executive Director of FACE, Mr Inatimi Odio, said that they decided to embark on the campaign to ensure that youths remain peaceful during and after the November 16 governorship election in Bayelsa.
He said, “We will engage key electoral stakeholders such as political parties, their candidates and campaign drivers, traditional rulers and religious institutions, security agencies, INEC, and others to promote peaceful conduct during the November 16 election.
“Youths are the active groups that perpetrate physical violence during the electoral circle, they are the foot soldiers that implement directives of political elites.
“Election is a fundamental part of democracy, because it gives citizens the opportunity to decide who leads them. “Youths need to take decisive steps to rewrite the narrative of election in Bayelsa State.”
Program Officer for Youth in the National Democratic Institute, Mr Uge Timipanipre, while speaking at the event, encouraged young people in the state to make firm commitment to shun violence during the November governorship election in Bayelsa.