With a total of 100 Peace Fellows of the Cardinal Onaiyekan Foundation for Peace from across the country already seated, the hall beamed with so much effulgence as dignitaries from different walks of life stepped in to take their seats.
It was the opening ceremony of the much anticipated 2-Day National Training Workshop on Election Monitoring/Observation in Nigeria, organized by the Cardinal Onaiyekan Foundation for Peace, themed “ARISE, O COMPATRIOTS, NIGERIA’S CALL OBEY’’. The Federal Republic of Nigeria, Africa’s giant, would be electing her 16thPresident in a matter of days, hence, the need to equip men and women for the election monitoring process during the training program held on the 20th and 21st day of February 2023, with the basic tools needed to undertake this all-important task.
The workshop began with a profound word of prayer and the National Anthem, after which the guests were introduced. It was such a pleasure to have on board, His Eminence John Cardinal Onaiyekan, the President and Founder of the COFP Foundation and Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, who made the opening remarks. He stressed that the task of observing and monitoring elections is a critical gateway of ensuring that our elections are free, fair and credible. Archbishop Onaiyekan congratulated the Executive Director of the Foundation, Rev. Sr. Agatha Chikelue, DMMM and her entire team for organizing the workshop with the full support and cooperation of The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). It was most elating to also have on board Sheikh Muhammad Nuru Khalid, popularly known as the Digital Imam, Rev. Fr. Professor Cornelius Omenorkhua, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Inter-religious Council, Dr. Sylvester Dachomo, President, COFP Africa Network of Peacebuilders, Professor Kareem Ramota, Vice-Chancellor, Fountain University, Oshogbo and Rev. Fr. Boniface Neibo, Secretary General, COFP Africa Network of Peacebuilders.
Anthonia Onda (Senior Program Officer, YIAGA Africa) stood in for the Executive Director, YIAGA Africa. She delivered an outstanding lecture on election procedure and observation, stating what to expect, what to come along with, what observers should look out for and what they should do if the statutory election procedure is tampered with.
Participants took a short break, after which the workshop was lit up with a very splendid eye-catching cultural display by some youths. This lightened up the atmosphere and helped prepare the Peace Fellows for the major presentation of the day, anchored by the very cerebral and articulate facilitator, Mrs. Nkechi Abu, Deputy Director, Election Monitoring and Observation, INEC. Her presentation focused on three main areas:
- The Roles and Responsibilities of an Election Observer;
- The essential issues in election observation;
- Key elements of INEC Regulations and Processes for election observation.
To wrap up the session, fellows were given the opportunity to ask questions on areas they needed more clarity, which they did! Satisfactory answers were provided for the issues raised.
Overall, it was such a joy to know that everyone who had been a part of the day’s program was more enlightened and a lot more enthusiastic to actively engage in the 2023 election observation exercise. With this training workshop, the entire COFP Election Observers delegates were confident that all efforts and prayers ploughed into the workshop will yield a good harvest of a peaceful, free and fair election, devoid of any form of violence or irregularities.
