In a bid to ensure fairness and credibility in the forthcoming general elections, Rotary International has commenced training of its members to serve as observers in the February 25 and March 11 elections.
The district governor of Rotary International District 9125, Goddy Nnadi, spoke with journalists on the sidelines of a collaborative training of the Rotary International and the Institute of Peace and Conflict Resolution’s election observers.
He explained that the organisation, as accredited observers of the 2023 general elections, will report facts of situations it monitors during the polls and ensure that there is fairness and credibility in reporting the outcome of the process.
He said that over 200 Rotarians, from all the four districts of Rotary International in Nigeria, had been selected to undergo the training.
“Because of our peace-building efforts and sensitisation across the country, INEC has engaged Rotary as an international observer.
“For the first time in Nigeria, Rotary has a slot and some dedicated and active Rotarians have been selected to represent Rotary as observers of the election and you know Rotary’s integrity is at stake. We’re going to report what we see on the field,” he said.
District governor of Rotary District 9141, Mightyman Aye Dikoru, urged the trainees to be non-partisan, adding that “we hope that citizens of this country, government in charge of the elections, political parties will see rotary as a partner and protect the observers.”
Also, Gabriel Jiya, from the office of the director-general of Institute of Conflict Resolution, explained that as far as their mandate is concerned, they always advocate for peaceful elections.
“INEC has done very well so far, and we hope that they will continue with what they are doing. A level playing ground is what they have put in place and we hope that they will maintain that to the end,” he said.
