ASABA — An advocacy group, Diaspora Medics for Good Governance- DM4GG, has collaborated with Peter Obi Support Network – POSN, to train hundreds of grassroots volunteers on election monitoring and voter mobilization, ahead of the 2023 General Election. The training, which was held at the Grand Hotel in Asaba Delta State, was attended by volunteers from the eleven states that made up the Southeast and South-South geo-political zones.
In his opening remarks, the Delta State Chairman of the Labour Party emphasized the need for volunteers and supporters of the Labour Party’s Presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, to consciously project the Labour Party’s logo, as that is the only thing that will appear on the ballot paper on the Election Day. This message was collaborated by other speakers, in their various remarks. The POSN Global Coordinator had earlier announced the group’s readiness to deploy its thousands of members across the whole 774 local governments in Nigeria, as well as wards and polling units, during the election next year.
On their part, the Diaspora Medics for Good Governance emphasized their commitment to ensuring that good governance is enthroned in Nigeria at all levels of government. They also affirmed their unalloyed support for the candidacy of Peter Obi and Yusuf Ahmed Baba-Datti as the next President and Vice President of Nigeria.
To achieve this uncommon feat, there is consensus that Nigerians must know better to enable them to act differently, particularly in selecting those that will govern the country from 2023. Diaspora Medics for Good Governance has over 400 members who are medical professionals of Nigerian descent living in the US, UK, Australia, and Saudi Arabia, among others. Some of their directors are; Dr. Chukwudi Muojieje, the director of administration, Dr. Kunle Adedeji, director of operations. Dr. Chete Eze-Nliam is the group’s director of finance. Meanwhile, Dr. Idu Nwapa Nwadiaro is the director of strategy for the group, Mrs. Maureen Aghomon, a mental health practitioner, is the director of outreach and partnership. Others are Prof. Dilly Anumba and Dr. Dan Akaninyene, who are directors of compliance, and media/publicity, respectively.
In the past, Diaspora Medics for Good Governance has partnered with other organizations to deliver advocacy projects or targeted community-based initiatives aimed at meeting the specified needs of a community. To mention but a few, there have been medical outreaches, the most recent of which took place at Ogbogologo market, Asaba Delta State, last weekend. During the CVR exercise by INEC, the group used many channels to educate Nigerian voters and encourage them to get their PVCs.
The DM4GG and POSN sponsored conference in Asaba to train volunteers was targeted specifically at addressing rising concerns regarding voter apathy, wrong voting that leads to invalidation of casted ballots, among others. The theme was “Developing Grassroots Structures for Effective People Oriented Democracy”.
As the volunteers go back to their various states of residence, it is expected that the gains of the conference and training will significantly help them in providing the much-needed political education to voters, especially those in villages, to enable them vote right in the 2023 General Elections.
He is a Technical Assistant to Governor Willie Obiano’s Special Adviser on Legislative Matters, whoonce was a Special Adviser to a former Deputy Speaker of Anambra State House of Assembly. Ebuka is a second class upper division graduate of Political Science from University of Calabar, Calabar Nigeria and holds a Masters Degree in Political Science with specialization in Government and Development Studies, from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka Nigeria
