2025: Kimpact, UK Int’l Development Partner to Train 60 Monitors for Anambra Guber Election
Sixty individuals, drawn from the 21 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Anambra State, along with selected media practitioners, have been successfully trained to monitor election-related violence ahead of the 2025 Anambra Governorship Election.
The training, titled Nigeria Election Violence Education and Resolution (NEVER), was a two-day event held from Wednesday to Thursday.
It was organized by the Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI) with support from its international partners, including the UK International Development.
Participants comprised social change advocates and community stakeholders from across the LGAs, with two representatives from each LGA designated as long-term election monitors. In addition, select journalists were trained as media monitors to track political campaign financing and monitor electoral narratives.
These monitors are tasked with observing and reporting on security incidents throughout the pre-election, election day, and post-election phases. Their primary objective is to document and help mitigate potential threats to electoral peace and integrity in the state.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Director of Kimpact Development Initiative, Mr. Bukola Idowu, highlighted the necessity of the training, citing key lessons from the 2021 Anambra Governorship Election ,particularly the alarmingly low voter turnout, largely attributed to insecurity.
According to Idowu, the NEVER project, which began in 2019, has previously been implemented during off-cycle elections in Edo and Ondo States, where it delivered impactful results by equipping security agencies and key stakeholders with actionable data to prevent election violence.
“We were present during the last governorship election here, and it was concerning. That election recorded the lowest voter turnout for any gubernatorial election in the country due to insecurity,”
“We don’t want a repeat of that scenario, because it’s a waste of resources. INEC prepared for over 2.5 million registered voters, but fewer than 300,000 showed up. Since insecurity was the major cause, we introduced this initiative early to prevent violence ahead of the November election. When the environment is peaceful, voter participation improves.
“We are also collaborating closely with security agencies. The data collected by these monitors will be forwarded to them for prompt intervention,” he added.
Idowu urged the monitors to remain factual in their reporting and to avoid fabricating stories. He emphasized that the NEVER initiative is a scientific, evidence-based project that will be subject to expert review.
Also speaking, KDI’s Head of Research and Strategy, Mr. Oluwafemi Adebayo, stressed that the level of electoral understanding among citizens significantly influences their participation.
To address this, Adebayo introduced NaijaElections, a platform developed by KDI to provide accessible, reliable information about Nigeria’s electoral processes and democratic system.
“It was created to serve as a one-stop hub for young voters and electoral stakeholders to get answers to all electoral questions and access Nigeria’s election history,” Adebayo explained.
“We’re in the era of artificial intelligence, and we’re leveraging it to enhance voter education. The platform simplifies bulky legal documents such as the Nigerian Constitution, the Electoral Act, and INEC guidelines.
“Our goal is to combat misinformation and disinformation by delivering accurate content in a simplified format. Features include text-to-speech, speech-to-text, dark/light mode, language accessibility, and storytelling tools.”
On her part, the State Team Lead Monitor, Ugochi Freeman, stated that the engagement aims to provide a comprehensive survey of potential security threats that could disrupt campaign activities and the election itself.
She expressed satisfaction with the quality of the training, noting that each participant now understands what indicators to look out for when monitoring election-related developments.
Some of the trained monitors, including Ikechukwu Iheagwazi from Ihiala LGA and Chidubem Nwachinemere from Anaocha LGA, lauded the training as highly impactful. They described the modules as well-structured and informative, significantly improving their grasp of election processes and monitoring techniques.
They pledged to diligently carry out their responsibilities for the benefit of the state and its democratic future.
