The Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), has unveiled an Electoral Act 2022 App as part of its awareness strategy to interpret the provisions of the Act ahead of the February 25th general election.
Executive Director PLAC, Dr Clement Nwankwo said the 2023 Elections would be a critical milestone in the history of Nigeria’s democracy and affirmed that the provisions of the 2022 Electoral Act being simplified and produced as an app would give citizens better understanding as well as keep them abreast with current events after the elections.
Unveiling the app in Abuja, Dr Nwankwo, highlighted the features of the PLAC App to include; “Accessibility as it can be downloaded on google play store, complete text of the Nigerian Electoral Act passed in 2022; a simplified web version as well as Android and iOS mobile versions”.
He explained that the objective was to disseminate the provisions of the law to the public and ensure that citizens have it in a readily accessible format.
Nwankwo urged citizens to study and leverage on the Electoral Act 2022, in order to reduce manipulation of the electoral process.
The Programme Manager, Democracy and Rule of Law, European Union, Ms Laolu Olawumi, commended PLAC team for putting together such a great tool to empower Nigerians with knowledge.
According to Olawumi, it is an excellent initiative, “With the quality of information, I think whether you are a lawyer, or you are just somebody who is keen on research, or you are just an average citizen wanting to understand the electoral law, this really sets the tone and helps you”. So embrace it, also connect with the process and it will help you authenticate certain materials that you receive to be able to engage with the process.
What this app does for us is to help bridge that gap between the information and the actual process”
She added that the software would be effective in understanding every section of the law and interprets provisions of relevant court decisions .
Reporting by Julian Osamoto, editing by Daniel Adejo