By Denen Achussah
THE Executive Director, Community Links and Human Empowerment Initiative (CLHEI), Dr. Helen Teghtegh, has said that modalities have been put in place to enable Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Benue State to vote in the 2023 General election.
Dr. Teghtegh, who disclosed this in Makurdi, the Benue State capital says “IDPs have been massively enlightened on the 2023 voting processes/procedures, where to vote and the right way to Get-Out-the-Vote ahead of the 2023 General Elections in Benue State.”
CLHEI has been working with IDPs to ensure they exercise their franchise since 2019 and Dr. Teghtegh says it is necessary that they vote as citizens of Nigeria.
Using the medium of Theatre for Development (TFD), CLHEI, with Support from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) through electoral officers and the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (BSEMA), ensured the IDPs across seven local government areas of the state comprising Makurdi, Guma, Gwer-West, Agatu, Kwande, Logo and Konshisha collect their PVCs.
“We utilised the instrument called Theatre For Development (TFD) to disseminate voter education messages to target IDPs camps and host communities across seven LGAs in Benue State on the importance of IDPs voting, When, Where and How to vote and the need to understand and exercise their civic rights,” Dr. Teghtegh said.
Meanwhile, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Prof Samuel Egwu, says INEC is collaborating with security agencies to guarantee safety for IDPs voting.
“More importantly, we’re working with other security agencies to guarantee maximum safety for IDP Voting. There’s great determination on the part of INEC and other CSO partners to see that Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are not disenfranchised during the 2023 general elections in Benue State,” Prof Egwu said.
