Forum of State Independent Electoral Commission (FOSIECON), has lauded the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES) for enhancing democratic governance in Nigeria through the training of its members.
Alhaji Ibrahim Bako, Chairman, FOSIECON, gave the commendation on Tuesday on the sidelines of a five-day training on Leadership and Quality Management for Electoral Stakeholders (LEAD-Q), organised for State Independent Electoral Commission (SIECs) in Akwanga, Nasarawa State.
Bako said the training would strengthen democracy in the local level and the country at large.
“This training will enhance electoral management in Nigeria as it will improve the skills of election managers.
“The training will also improve on our skills to better the election process at the local level as the greater numbers of electorate are at the local government level.
“We will continue to appreciate ECES as the gesture will enhance capacities of the chairmen of SIECs towards strengthening electoral processes,” he said .
He gave the assurance that members would use the knowledge gained in order to conduct free and fair local government election in their respective states.
Also speaking, Hamza Fassi-Fihri, Project Coordinator, ECES, noted that local councils and local governments are indeed the first level at which citizens can experiment democracy, transparency and accountability.
“The level of credibility of local elections, the plurability of the representation, the effectiveness of the delivery of the public services are at the local level.
“This is why we believe that the more consolidated and strong the SIECs are, the more they contribute to increase the legitimacy, not only of the local democracy that they operate, but the legitimacy of the Nigerian democracy in general, “he said. (NAN)
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