The Federal Government, has launched a nationwide grassroots mobilisation campaign to tackle voter apathy, vote buying, electoral violence and the spread of fake news ahead of the 2027 general election.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, alongside the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, announced the initiative in Abuja during the flag-off of the campaign themed, “Your Vote, Your Voice, Our Future: Say No to Apathy, Vote Buying and Violence. Let’s Build a United Nigeria in 2027.”
The campaign, organised by the NOA, is designed to promote informed electoral participation, peaceful conduct and responsible citizenship through sustained engagement with Nigerians at the grassroots.
Speaking at the event, the minister said misinformation and disinformation remained major threats to credible elections, warning that misleading videos and false reports could discourage eligible voters from participating in the electoral process.
He noted that footage from other countries had previously been circulated as though it depicted violence in Nigeria, creating fear and discouraging citizens from going out to vote.
The minister urged the NOA, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the media and other stakeholders to intensify public enlightenment and ensure that Nigerians received accurate and verified information before and during the elections.
He said, “If you ask me, it is actually what we should be looking at because that is what leads to apathy and can also lead to violence.”
According to him, media freedom must be accompanied by responsibility, particularly during elections when the spread of unverified information could undermine public confidence and threaten national stability.
He urged journalists to ensure that information published or broadcast was credible and responsibly presented, while encouraging citizens to verify information before sharing it.
The minister also disclosed that Nigeria had secured the hosting rights for a Media and Information Literacy Institute to be established in Abuja in collaboration with the National Open University of Nigeria.
He said the initiative, which followed three years of efforts, would help improve media literacy, particularly among young Nigerians, and equip citizens with the skills to distinguish between genuine information and fake news.
On electoral reforms, the minister said the Federal Government was committed to strengthening Nigeria’s democratic institutions and supporting efforts to ensure credible elections in 2027.
He also expressed confidence that the government would provide the necessary funding for INEC, arguing that investing in credible elections was preferable to spending resources addressing violence arising from electoral disputes.
The minister, however, stressed that laws and institutions alone could not guarantee credible elections without the cooperation of political parties, candidates, electoral officials, the media and citizens.
He urged Nigerians to reject vote buying and electoral violence, noting that the consequences of such practices extended beyond election day and could damage relationships within communities.
He added that President Bola Tinubu was committed to ensuring transparent and credible elections that Nigerians could trust in 2027.
In his address, NOA Director-General, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, said the agency would deploy its state directorates across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, alongside Community Orientation and Mobilisation Officers across the 774 local government areas, to take voter education directly to communities.
He said the campaign would extend beyond the flag-off ceremony to markets, neighbourhoods, community meeting places and other locations where Nigerians gather and exchange information.
According to him, the agency will engage market associations, artisans, transport workers, youth organisations, women’s groups and other community networks through dialogue, public education and targeted communication.
He explained that the campaign would use local languages, radio discussions, drama, short audio messages and accessible public education materials to ensure that its messages reached diverse audiences.
Issa-Onilu said the initiative was designed to address concerns discouraging some Nigerians from participating in elections, including information gaps, fear of intimidation and declining confidence in the electoral process.
He noted that voter apathy reduced the breadth of public participation, while vote buying compromised citizens’ freedom of choice and electoral violence threatened lives and community relationships.
He said: “For the National Orientation Agency, our responsibility is to help citizens understand the process, recognise their role and obtain reliable information. We must make civic participation understandable and relevant to everyday life.
“Voter apathy weakens the breadth of public participation and leaves important decisions to fewer people. Vote buying undermines freedom of choice by exploiting vulnerability. Electoral violence threatens lives, silences citizens and damages relationships that communities will need long after the ballots have been counted.
“No political ambition should cost a Nigerian life. No disagreement should destroy the bonds between neighbours. No temporary inducement should determine a citizen’s choice about our collective future.”
The NOA chief explained that the agency would also use its digital platforms to disseminate reliable electoral information and encourage Nigerians to verify messages before sharing them.
He said its grassroots officers would gather feedback from communities, identify recurring misconceptions and refer issues requiring clarification to INEC and relevant security agencies.
Issa-Onilu emphasised that the campaign would remain strictly non-partisan, adding that the agency’s personnel, platforms and messages must demonstrate fairness to Nigerians irrespective of political affiliation, ethnicity, religion or social standing.
He called for sustained collaboration with INEC, security agencies, political parties, civil society organisations, traditional and religious leaders, development partners and the media to ensure the campaign achieved its objectives.
The NOA director-general also urged political parties and candidates to promote issue-based campaigns, discourage vote buying and make peaceful conduct a clear expectation among their supporters.
He said the agency would pay particular attention to young people, women and persons with disabilities to ensure that their concerns and information needs were reflected in the mobilisation exercise.
The minister and the NOA director-general called on stakeholders to promote peaceful participation, discourage inflammatory rhetoric and ensure that political differences did not degenerate into hostility.
The initiative is also expected to strengthen public awareness of voting procedures, citizens’ electoral rights and responsibilities, and the importance of obtaining official information from the appropriate authorities.
The organisers said the campaign would complement INEC’s statutory responsibilities by helping verified electoral information reach communities in clear, accessible and consistent formats.
They stressed that the success of the mobilisation would ultimately depend on the ability of stakeholders to translate public enlightenment into informed participation, respect for electoral rules and peaceful conduct throughout the electoral process.
The campaign is expected to continue across the country ahead of the 2027 general election, with the NOA seeking to encourage eligible voters to participate without intimidation, reject electoral malpractice and respect the choices of fellow citizens.
The NOA’s grassroots mobilisation campaign is expected to use community engagement, local languages, radio programmes, drama and digital platforms to deepen public awareness of electoral responsibilities.
Speaking earlier, the Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier-General Olakunle Nafiu, represented by Mrs Abdulwahab Olayinka, reaffirmed the scheme’s commitment to supporting voter education and peaceful electoral participation ahead of the 2027 general election.
Nafiu emphasised the importance of youth involvement in strengthening Nigeria’s democracy and encouraged efforts to educate citizens on their electoral responsibilities.
He reaffirmed the NYSC’s support for initiatives aimed at promoting responsible citizenship and encouraging Nigerians to participate peacefully in the democratic process.
The scheme’s participation in the mobilisation campaign underscores the role of youth engagement in promoting civic awareness, democratic participation and peaceful elections.