Stakeholders demand total electoral system overhaul

Political stakeholders in Ebonyi State have recommended a total overhaul of Nigeria’s electoral system to guarantee that only leaders chosen by the electorate preside over the affairs of the people.

The call was the central resolution of a one-day state-level roundtable on active citizenship.

It was organised by the Community Outreach and Public Empowerment (COPE) Foundation under its Ebonyi Active Citizens Project, with support from YIAGA Africa and National Endowment for Democracy.

Participants linked the country’s rising political apathy to the failure of political leaders to respect citizens’ voices on governance issues. 

They argued that widespread belief that votes do not count has bred a culture of passive citizenship, especially among youths and women at the grassroots.

The dialogue brought together state and non-state actors, including public officials, political party leaders, youth and women groups, traditional rulers, civil society organisations, and the media, to chart ways of improving citizen participation in governance.

Beyond the electoral system, stakeholders identified other drivers of apathy: gaps in citizens’ knowledge of civic rights and responsibilities, and absence of regular, structured platforms for interaction between citizens and local government officials. 

Both factors, they said, limit dialogue, feedback, and collaboration.

Speaking for women, activist Goodness Mgbaja cited cultural norms, social expectations, economic constraints and low confidence as key barriers to women’s political participation. 

Mgbaja called for men’s support, deliberate economic empowerment for women, enhanced financial rights and inheritance privileges, and “a safe political space that guarantees women’s safety”.

For the youths, David Nwankwo blamed economic policies “that continue to impoverish young Nigerians” as a major discouraging factor.

CSO representatives Victoria Ebere Eze and Oliver Chima Ajah urged citizens to turn their attention to grassroots leaders and demand accountability from local government chairmen on the utilisation of allocated funds.

Earlier, COPE Foundation Executive Director, Azubuike Mgbebu, explained that the Ebonyi Active Citizens Project is designed to strengthen democratic participation, promote civic awareness, and enhance inclusive governance in Abakaliki, Ikwo and Ezza South Local Government Areas.

Mgbebu said the project has trained grassroots civic champions known as Community Active Citizens Advocates, and building a network of 300 informed citizens across the three LGAs. 

Through campus town hall meetings and youth mobilisation, it has also trained over 80 Campus Active Citizens and deepened citizen-government dialogue, with emphasis on women and youth inclusion.

He said: “The EACP ultimately seeks to transform passive citizens into active participants in governance, thereby supporting stronger democratic systems and more responsive leadership at the local levels.”

Participants at the event, including Governor Francis Nwifuru’s Special Assistants on Youth Mobilisation, Godfrey Agbe, and Community Engagement, Paulinus Nwanchor; traditional rulers: Eze Stephen Ukpa of Okpuitumo Abakaliki and Pius Nte Ubeh of Ndufu Echara Ikwo; and Director of Planning in the State Ministry of Budget, Planning and Monitoring, Chijioke Ogbodo, pledged to work in synergy to build a state where citizens understand their civic rights and use them to achieve more inclusive governance.