A non-governmental organisation, Brain Builders Youth Development Initiative has unveiled an application – WI-APP — to ease electoral processes, provide relevant information and assist Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) during this year’s general election.
The Global Director of the group, Olasupo Abideen, said the application, on the platform of “Yvote Naija Project” is fully funded by Christian Aid, a relief and development agency.
According to him, the country, since returning to democracy in 1999, has witnessed massive voter apathy because of electoral malpractices.
He said: “To change the narrative, the group decided to channel its energy to the electoral process by ensuring that Nigerians use their decisive tool to change the story of the country.
“Yvote Naija, which means, ‘Why Should You Vote, Najia’, is yet another intentional effort in this direction. Two years ago, precisely January 2021, Yvote Naija was born to address voter apathy and increase participation.
“Our missions are to educate voters on the importance of election and the electoral cycle, facilitate the registration of voters and mobilise them to exercise their rights.
“During elections, we also employ technology to track the voting process and engage in fact-checks to debunk misleading information.”
Founder of WI-APP, Obasanjo Fajemirokun, noted that the App was out to reach out to two million users during the elections.
He said: “More than 29 million of Nigeria’s national population live with a disability according to the World Health Organisation, 2018. However, not all polling units are accessible and those that are accessible are not known to people living with disabilities.
“Also women and youths have been contending to participate effectively in politics over the years and there are a lot of barriers faced by them, such as misinformation and low access to electoral information, among others.”