Published By Olukayode Idowu, Abuja
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has funded ActionAid Nigeria electioneering project in the country with N1 billion.
The fund is specifically aimed at supporting election processes for women and young people in Rivers, Kaduna and Kano states through the We-You Pro Project of ActionAid Nigeria.
The FCDO’s intervention was revealed on Wednesday by the Director of Resource,Mobilization and Innovation, ActionAid Nigeria, Andrew Mamedu at the inception workshop of the We-You Pro Project in Abuja. He said the project started in September, 2021 and is expected to end in March, 2023.
He said the intention is to engage three political parties towards ensuring that their systems are strong enough to accommodate women and young persons representative within their political structure .
Mamedu further disclosed that the funding will cover community and state level elections and electioneering, adding that they will be working with women and youth group in these three states .
He said: “We will be working with women and young people towards mobilization and getting other people to ensure that their issues are captured in the manifesto of the political parties.
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“We want to see how we can get the politicians to listen to women and ensure that their affairs are captured towards the manifesto.”
He added that: “We want to have those who intend to lead us ahead 2023 polls are held accountable .
“We are also working with religious and traditional institutions, Community Base Organization, Faith Base Organization towards mobilizing young people and women.”
Also, the Manager Governance Programme, ActionAid Nigeria, Celestine Okwudili-Odo said the objectives of the We-You Pro is to introduce partners and other participants to the projects, familiarize them with it goals , output, outcomes and the overall MEL framework.
He said other objectives are to facilitate understanding of project deliverables and figure out areas for synergies amongst partners .
He said: “Facilitate insightful discussions on mechanism for building high level support and deepening stakeholders engagement for the entire project duration and Review MoUs and familiarize with the FCDO’s requirements and reporting.” He disclosed that the workshop is aimed at notifying all project stakeholders about the project and to provide the foundation for building collective understanding on the goals of the project and the necessary actions required to achieve the goals.