..…As Participants caution monarchs on neutrality.
By: Ade Adeleke
A popular election monitoring organisation, Yiaga Africa, on Tuesday declared that it will deploy an advanced election-day observation methodology called the Process and Results Verification for Transparency (PRVT) in Ondo State during the November 16, 2024 election.
The organisation also disclosed that it will deploy 324 trained election observers to selected polling units across the eighteen Local Government Areas of Ondo State for the election.
The Programme Manager of Yiaga Africa, Mr Paul James announced this in Akure at a workshop organised by the organisation to engage media professionals and members of Civil Society Organisations ahead of the election.
Yiaga Africa’s objective focuses on election monitoring to entrench democracy through free, fair, and credible elections in Nigeria.
Paul James explained that the observers would report from their respective polling units to the Data Centre, which will be operational before and during the election.
He said “We will be using an advanced election-day observation methodology called the Process and Results Verification for Transparency (PRVT) in Ondo State on election day.
“Citizen observers will be deployed to randomly sampled polling units to collect data on the conduct of the elections and official polling unit-level results,” he stated.
In her address, a Board Member of Yiaga Africa, Dr (Mrs) Asmau Sani Meikudi, pointed out that that the group carries out Process and Results Verification for Transparency (PRVT) to deter, detect, and expose fraud.
She said that the organisation provides information on the election process to boost citizens’ confidence in the election.
“Yiaga Africa is a civil society organisation that works to promote human rights, democratic governance, and civic participation.
“As part of the socialisation of the Process & Results Verification for Transparency (PRVT) methodology, Yiaga Africa is organising this roundtable to offer participants an overview of the PRVT methodology and deepen their understanding of it as a tool for promoting electoral integrity.
“Yiaga considers CSOs and the media as strategic partners and has organised similar roundtables for experience-sharing during the 2020 elections.
“Yiaga has already engaged key stakeholders for the smooth conduct of the 2024 Ondo gubernatorial elections. We have met with the REC, Ondo State, the Commissioner of Police Ondo State, the State Commander of the NSCDC, and IPAC; today, we are engaging with CSOs, the media, and later with the NOA and NURTW. Our objective is to ensure a free, fair, credible, inclusive, and acceptable Ondo gubernatorial election on November 16, 2024,” she emphasised.
She said, the discussion was organised to share plans for engaging in the 2024 governorship elections and to gather insights from participants on their involvement in the process, alongside their assessments of other stakeholders’ pre-election engagements and how these could impact the conduct of the elections.
In his remarks, the Ondo State Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Prince Leke Adegbite declared that media professionals and organisations in the State and beyond had been very fair and providing a level playing field for all political parties and their candidates to sell their manifestos to the electorate.
Adegbite also said the media had also been using their reports to point out some of their issues around the election as well as preparations of the INEC and other stakeholders for the election.
Participants stressed the need for the traditional rulers in Ondo state to maintain neutrality in the electoral process.
