Abuja: The Nigeria Youths in Politics (NiYP) has announced a comprehensive plan to engage over 300,000 young Nigerians in a nationwide framework aimed at promoting electoral vigilance and safeguarding the integrity of the 2027 general elections. Blessing Oyefeso, the Chief Executive Officer of NiYP, disclosed this initiative in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the initiative, named the Youth Electoral Guards Observer (YEGO), is a collaboration between NiYP and key partner organizations, including the Youth-Action for Electoral Accountability and Partnership Alliance (YEAPA), the Nigeria Youth Policy Development Advocacy (NYPDA), and other strategic partners. The project aims to recruit, train, and deploy 50,000 young Nigerians as electoral master trainers and civic actors across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Oyefeso elaborated that the YEGO project is expected to engage over three million young Nigerians across more than 170,000 polling units. The participants will be trained to promote peaceful and lawful electoral participation, resist electoral violence, and report incidents of malpractices through the YEGO platform. They will also be equipped to follow various stages of the electoral process, support violence-prevention mechanisms, and share information responsibly with relevant institutions.
He noted that insights gathered from previous elections, such as the Osun governorship election, have been instrumental in refining the YEGO framework for its nationwide rollout. The main objective of YEGO is to establish a citizen-led support structure that bolsters communication and incident reporting in collaboration with established electoral and security agencies.
Oyefeso emphasized the need for a coordinated approach to prevent potential electoral violence, given Nigeria’s vast electoral landscape with over 170,000 polling units. He highlighted the importance of moving from passive voting to organized civic responsibility to protect the democratic process throughout the electoral cycle.
He urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies, civil society organizations, development partners, traditional institutions, and the public to collaborate with NiYP in transforming Nigeria’s electoral future for the greater good.