NAN
The National Orientation Agency (NOA), in Kaduna State on Thursday commenced sesitisation of electorate on the forthcoming Local Government elections in the state.
Alhaji Zubairu Galadima-Soba, Kaduna State Director of NOA, while launching the sensitisation programme in Zaria said the essence of the exercise was to educate the electorate toward successful elections.
The News agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the programme is tagged: “Sensitisation and Mobilisation of Electorate Towards the 2018 Local Government Elections”.
NAN also reports that the sensitisation is under “Change Begins With Me campaign on conservation and protection of public assets and critical infrastructure”.
Galadima-Soba said the programme was geared towards free, fair, credible and hitch-free local government elections across the state.
“Our duty in NOA is to sensitise the general public on government policies and programmes and in turn we take information whether good or bad from public to government.
“In essence, we facilitate the flow of information from top to button and from button to top, therefore, election is not an exception, hence the need for this sensitisation,” he said.
The director advised youths to shun political thuggery, saying that such attitude was detrimental not only to the success of the elections but also to societal growth.
He urged parents to ensure proper upbringing of their children, advising that they should be mindful of the fact that proper upbringing lies in their hands.
Galadima-Soba encouraged the electorate come out en masse to exercise their franchise, saying that it was their legitimate right that no one would afford to miss.
The director lamented the menace of drug abuse especially among the youths, adding that there was need for the society to take decisive action to reduce its spread.
“We don’t need the security agencies to reduce the menace of drug abuse, it is our responsibility as parents and members of the society to take measures to reduce this ugly trend.”
In his speech, the Administrator, Zaria Local Government, Alhaji Tukur Abubakar-Yero stressed the need for people to cooperate towards a hitch-free local government elections.
He lauded the courage and foresight of NOA for taking a bold step to organise the sensitisation programme.
NAN reports that the sensitisation exercise drew participants from Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission (KADSIECOM), INEC, security agencies and Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) among others.
NAN also reports that questions and answers were entertained during the programme.
