The Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, at Angwan Zawu Temporary Camp in Goni Gora, Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State have appealed to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to provide human and material resources to enable them participate in the coming by-elections.
Mr. Caleb Nayaro, the camp coordinator, lamented that less than a quarter of about 3,000 displaced persons scattered across five locations of Buruku, Kakau, Toll Gate, Sabon Gida, and Buwaya under his watch could not take part in the 2023 round of elections due to insecurity.
He spoke to newsmen on the sideline of a one-day sensitisation of IDPs on the 2022 Regulations and Framework for Voting organised by the All-rights Foundation (TAF) Africa, funded by the European Union through its Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) programme.
He explained that he is coordinating five IDPs of Buruku, Kakau, Toll Gate, Sabon Gida, and Buwaya, saying that Agwan Zawu is like the coordinating centre where they converge.
Nayaro said, “We thank TAF Foundations for this sensitisation because we have lost out on many elections as most of us were unable to participate in the 2023 round of elections for example.”
The Coordinator stated that “the IDPs in Buruku were supposed to have two polling units but because of insecurity, they could not”, praying that the government through the INEC would do the needful for these groups of Nigerians to participate in future elections.
Mr George Dominic Anwayi, the Assistant Programme Manager, TAF Africa, earlier regretted that vulnerable people, including the IDPs, were excluded from the scheme of things across all tiers of government.
