Allow prison inmates participate in ongoing election processes, Peace Corps Commandant tells FG

The National Commandant of Peace Corps, Prof. Dickson Akoh, has charged the federal government to urgently devise a means of allowing prison inmates being held across different correctional centres in the country to participate in the ongoing electioneering processes.

Akoh, who spoke to journalists on the sidelines of Democracy Day Symposium organised by the Nigerian Society, Cambridge University, United Kingdom, also asked the federal government to include youth and women in the processes.

The Peace Corps boss, who doubles as the Chairman Board of Trustees for National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), maintained that those people being held in prisons deserve to be part of Nigerians who will elect credible leaders in 2023.

”The theme of this symposium is talking about inclusiveness, inclusion of Nigerians – the youths, the women, and I said that as long as we have significant population of people that are being held in correctional centres, they should also have a say!

”I believe that if they are given the opportunity to vote, some of them find their ways to the prison because of the social challenges created by the politicians themselves.

”That is why I consider it very expedient that they should be considered in the electioneering processes especially the voting processes, so that they will be able to be part and peruse of electing credible leadership that will address the challenges that led some of them getting into the prison,” Akoh said.

He added that the emergence of presidential candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, showed that youths have been marginalised and neglected.

According to him, ”The major political gladiators, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have succeeded in having their flagbearers in the elderly class. The Nigerian Youth Constituency are rightfully beginning to feel marginalised and neglected.”