Anambra State chapter of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYC) yesterday described as political insult, the culture of voter apathy prevalent in Anambra State and Southeast.
NYC Chairman, Obi Chukwudi, a surveyor, said this at the beginning of a three-day youth sensitisation/electoral awareness programme for the 2023 general election across the three senatorial zones.
He said such negative disposition showed certain level of unseriousness of people of the region towards nation building.
The programme with the theme: ‘We have 2.5 million votes, use it to determine the future you want’, began with a road show in many parts of Awka, including Eke-Awka market, UNIZIK temp-site, Amawbia flyover, Umuokpu building materials, among others.
Chukwudi said: “As youth leaders in the state, we deem it fit to sensitise the people to come out and participate in the coming elections.
“In the time past, Anambra is with over two million registered voters and two million collected voters’ cards, but when it comes to the elections, it has less than 500,000 persons participating.
“It is a political insult for us in the Southeast and Anambra having the habit of not voting. It makes it looks like we are not ready to play our role in the nation’s polity, especially now that we are complaining of exclusion.
“So, there is need this time to do this sensitisation to ensure we vote massively. Our votes are our passport to a better Nigeria.”
The state Youth Leader of farmers, Chisom Onugha, described the awareness programme as a reawakening project in the sense that the people could not continue to complain.
“The gap is as a result of voter apathy. We can no longer continue to complain as youths when we have the capacity to determine who wins the next election.
“We want to tell our people that it is not enough for you to go and get your Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), but it is equally important that you come out to use your PVCs to vote on the election days,” he said.