Kano Civil Society Forum says it will engage Kano citizens in the 2023 general elections, even as it inaugurates a situation room, ahead of the elections.
President the forum and the convener of the Situation Room, Mr Ibrahim Wayya, made this known at the inauguration of the situation room in Kano on Saturday.
He said that the situation room was established to facilitate coordination among all stakeholders in election management, to enhance civil society advocacy efforts toward the conduct of free and fair elections.
According to him, “the purpose for this initiative is to create a new model for civil society engagement in all matters relating to the upcoming general elections.
“The role of civil society in ensuring the success of election is partly shaped by the environment in which it operates and by the traditional nature of their intervention, which is usually observation and reporting developments.”
Wayya said that the situation room would provide a platform for rapid and timely response.
He added that it was designed to ensure that civil society played greater roles in crisis management, early warning and constructive engagement of the process for credible election.
According to him, the situation room would have representatives from the police, Department of State Services, INEC, National Human Rights Commission, EFCC, the media, civil society, IPAC, Hisbah, NOA, Civil Defence, the military and the traditional institution.
The essence, Wayya said, was to maximise access to information gathering and provide a unified platform for analysis and proactive intervention by concerned authorities.
Also speaking, the Co-convener of the situation room, Dr Abdurrazak Alkali, appealed for positive engagement of all stakeholders.
Alkali reflected on the positive roles of the situation room launched during the last local government elections in the state.
He reitrated the forum’s commitment to complimenting the mandates of all election monitoring authorities to enhance the success of the 2023 general elections.
Representatives of the police, INEC, National Human Rights Commission, Hisba, traditional institution and the DSS pledged full participation in the situation room.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Kano Civil Society Forum (KCSF) is the umbrella body of over 100 civil society organisations operating in the state.
NAN also reports that the inauguration of the situation room was organised with support from National Endowment for Democracy (NED), Washington D.C. (NAN)
