2023 Election: Historic Moments As CSO Launches App To Address Voter Apathy Ahead of Polls
- Ahead of the 2023 general elections in February, a new innovation has been added to the gallery of Nigeria's electoral system
- The Brain Builders Youth Development Initiative (BBYDI) on Tuesday, January 10 launched an app to help foster inclusivity for PWDs, women and youths
- The App was developed with the sole aim of helping electorates to navigate and monitor activities at the polling units
FCT, Abuja - The electoral system of Nigeria has once again been greeted with a new innovation that will help foster the success of next month's presidential polls.
A non-governmental organisation, Brain Builders Youth Development Initiative (BBYDI) on Tuesday, January in Abuja launched the YVOTE WI-APP to address voter apathy and help persons with disabilities (PWDs) during the cause of the elections.
Source: UGC
Speaking to Legit.ng, the executive director of BBYDI, Olasupo Abideen stated that the essence of the app is to help curb voter apathy in Nigeria.
He stated that elections over the years have not been seamless for voters as they find it difficult to locate their polling units, especially the newly registered voters.
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Abideen said:
"We discover that in Nigeria, a major contribution to voter apathy is because people do not have the opportunity to access polling units.
"So, this app is basically designed for increased participation in voting in Nigeria because the last general election we witnessed low-level participation."
He further stated that the new app seeks to help voters and citizens get updated about electoral information, and access polling units, especially for the PWDs with a special feature on that app to help them locate the polling units.
Similarly, the developer of the app, Obasanjo Fajemirokun described it as Nigeria's most inclusive app.
He stated that the app is built to satisfy the uses and gratification of every Nigerian irrespective of age, class and gender.
About the YVOTE WI-APP
Obasanjo revealed that the app can be navigated even by the least educated person while noting that it has translations in four languages (English, Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo).
He said:
“The app is very friendly and easy to use. It was built with the basic purpose of inclusion and we are using the UK standard to ensure that everything in the app is accessible, including its support screen reader function.
“People living with disabilities will be able to use the app. It has no difficult menu; everything was ensured to be open and easy.”
Obasanjo is the winner of the youth civic-tech competition staged last year to bring together youthful tech innovators in a bid to proffer tech solutions to the Nigerian electoral practice.
The initiative was funded by Christian Aid (Nigeria) and was facilitated by Brain Builders Youth Development Initiative (BBYDI).
2023: Yiaga Africa, UNDP synergise ahead of polls, targets 29m, young voters
In another development, external stakeholders and interest groups have begun preparations ahead of the forthcoming general elections in Nigeria.
A collaboration between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Yiaga Africa has been brokered to ensure a smooth-running election at the 2023 polls.
However, Nigerian youths have been implored to take advantage of their numbers and decide the outcome of the 2023 polls.
Source: Legit.ng
