Francesca Odimgbe
Lagos State First Lady, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, has organized a parley to simplify the usage of the Permanent Voters Card (PVC) and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BIVAS) for artisans and members of political groups and various grassroots associations including the People Living with Disabilities in the state.
The parley, held at Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja, is the 4th in the series organized by the First Lady in furtherance of sensitization programs put together for critical stakeholders on the forthcoming general elections.
The First Lady said the focal objective of the parley was to train the trainers and ensure that citizens are well sensitized on the electioneering process and procedures to follow on election day.
“According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), we have about 5.5 million voters who have collected their PVCs in Lagos State and there is a need to encourage a large percentage of this number to come out and vote on the Election Day.
“Each and every one of you here is an ambassador. You have a lot of people who are members of your groups, associations, and organizations. We need to convince people to come out and vote on election day.
“More importantly, it is not enough to encourage large voter turnout but to ensure that voters are adequately schooled on avoiding void votes,” she said.
The First Lady urged the participants to guard their PVCs jealously by keeping them safe at home until the day of the election to vote.
“Your PVC is your passport to protect your future and secure the future of our children and grandchildren. It is our civic responsibility to guard it jealously and use it at the appropriate time on election day,” she said.
Besides, the First Lady said Lagos continues to record phenomenal feats because of the continuity in governance that had been sustained since 1999 as successive administrations have kept faith with the blueprint of development laid by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Continuity is our winning formula in Lagos State. We have the products that we always talk about. This is the campaign period and my product is the broom party, All Progressives Congress (APC).
“Our Presidential candidate is Asiwaju Tinubu; our Governorship candidate is Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu. We also have our Senatorial, House of Reps, and State House of Assembly candidates.
“I urge you all to vote APC all the way to engender the leadership that will bring about renewed hope to our country and further consolidate on the achievements of the last four years in Lagos State,” the First Lady said.
On her part, the Wife of the Deputy Governor, Mrs. Oluremi Hamzat urged parents to caution their children against being used to perpetrate violence during the elections, saying all hands must be on deck to ensure a peaceful electioneering process.
Also speaking, Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo said through the Eko Excel initiative introduced by Governor Sanwo-Olu, 18,000 primary school teachers were trained to deliver high-quality education leveraging technology and handed tablets to teach in the classrooms.
As part of the parley, there were other presentations on the achievements of the State Government in critical sectors in the last four years including Wealth Creation and Employment, Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, and Civic engagement, among others.
The First Lady also distributed relief items to participants.
Some of the participants, Prince Kenny Bakare of Project LOUD and Mrs Bose Joseph of Made-In-Lagos Political organization commended the First Lady for the initiative of the parley, saying they were personally enlightened about how to properly vote on election day.