U.S. govt supports initiative to tackle voter apathy in 2023 polls

The United States government, through its Embassy in Nigeria, has thrown its weight behind Vote023 Initiative to curb voter apathy in the 2023 general elections.

The Vote023 Initiative is a non-partisan incentive-driven voice call campaign to drive Nigerians consciousness of civic responsibility, especially as the 2023 elections are fast-approaching.

Angela Ochu-Baiye, a Mandela Washington Fellow and Lead Collaborator in the Vote023 project, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday in Lagos.

Mrs Ochu-Baiye said the embassy affirmed this support in a Federal Assistance Award notice on December 15 to the project, conceived by Emeka Mba, a Tech Entrepreneur and Founder, Emergent Labs.

Mrs Ochu-Baiye said: “The Vote023 Team is delighted that the US Embassy in Nigeria is partnering with us to get our messages out to thousands of Nigerians via our IVR messages recorded in English , Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo and Pidgin.

“We are abundantly appreciative of their support and it will go a long way in helping to achieve the project goals.”

According to Mrs Ochu-Baiye, the objective of Vote023 is to correct the worrisome issue of voter apathy by creatively sensitising Nigerians and giving them strong reasons to vote at the forthcoming 2023 elections.

She said the objective was to deepen the citizens’ consciousness of their civic obligation and drive more engagement in the voting process.

Mrs Ochu-Baiye said that the project was not affiliated to any political figure or party but emphasised principles and data.

Mr Mba, the Visioneer and Solutions Architect of the Vote023 campaign, said: “We launched Vote023 in November 2022 to encourage voting culture in Nigeria.

“This assistance from the United States Embassy is a big boost to our campaign efforts.

“We are extremely grateful for the partnership while we look forward to more impactful ones.”

Mr Mba called on other institutions and well-meaning Nigerians to take a cue from the U.S. Embassy by supporting the initiative.

He said that the project targeted more than 23 million Nigerians with 23 cogent reasons to vote at the 2023 elections.

Vote023 was launched in November 2022, with a theme song titled ‘The Call’, produced by Gospelondebeatz and created by Angela Ochu-Baiye.

(NAN)