INEC, NOA Move to strengthen Partnership
…as INEC Chairman Tasks NOA on Voter Mobilisation
By Raphael Ekpang
Abuja (Core Reporters) As the 2027 general, off season and by-elections beckon, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) have both agreed to strengthen partnership with the view to increasing voter turnout and greater participation of the under-represented demographics in our electoral process.
In the light of the above, the INEC Chairman Professor Mahmood Yakubu has tasked the Director General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA) Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu on the need to embark on aggressive voter’s mobilisation.
Prof Yakubu made this known on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, as he received Issa-Onilu in his office at the commission’s headquarters, Abuja when the former paid him a courtesy visit.
Prof Yakubu insisted that his commssiom would like to explore further areas of partnership with the NOA through its Voter Education & Publicity and other relevant departments, particularly with the recent creation by the Commission of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Division under its ICT Department.
He noted futher that they both need to strengthen partnership in voter mobilisation. “While INEC will continue its voter education efforts, the NOA should, working with other stakeholders such as the political parties, civil society organisations and the media, help in the area of voter mobilisation.”
According to him, “I am particularly glad that this meeting is at the instance of the DG in furtherance of the long-standing partnership between INEC and NOA. As the national election management body in Nigeria, we are aware that our responsibility is multi-stakeholder and inter-agency in nature. To succeed, we must engage all stakeholders and every national institution relevant to our mandate. One of such national institutions is the NOA.
“Let me also formally congratulate Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu on your appointment as the Director General of NOA. Our mandate of conducting elections and electoral activities cannot be effectively discharged without advocacy and sensitisation of citizens for which you are a central institution in Nigeria. Like INEC, you have offices across the Local Government Areas of the country which enable you to directly reach out to many Nigerians at community level.
“We have been following your giant strides. Your “NOA Content Factory” dedicated to the creation and dissemination of information through the NOA TV, NOA Radio and The Explainer newsletter are platforms for informed and inclusive engagement with Nigerians. In the area of ICT, your national virtual hackathons provide a medium for engagement with young Nigerians, both at home and in the diaspora. Your commitment to fostering AI-Powered Data Management is a very good opportunity for targeted strategic communication. I would like us to explore further areas of partnership through our Voter Education & Publicity and other relevant departments, particularly with the recent creation by the Commission of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Division under our ICT Department.
“ Another area where we need to strengthen our partnership is voter mobilisation. While INEC will continue its voter education efforts, the NOA should, working with other stakeholders such as the political parties, civil society organisations and the media, help in the area of voter mobilisation. The aim is to increase voter turnout and greater participation of the under-represented demographics in our electoral process, particularly youths, women and Persons with Disability (PwDs). It is for this reason that NOA has been included in the expanded membership of our Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES). The Commission is also making efforts to revamp the National Inter-Agency Committee on Voter Education and Publicity (NICVEP) in which NOA will, again, play an active role.
“Your visit is coming at a critical time in our preparations for the Anambra State Governorship election holding on 8th November 2025, and the 2027 General Election. The nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) is scheduled to begin in about three weeks with the online pre-registration of voters on 18th August, followed by the in-person registration on 25th August 2025,” he said.
Earlier on, Issa-Onilu has commended the INEC chairman and his staff for the recent improvement in the electoral process in Nigeria, stressing the need for NOA to collaborate with INEC in educating the masses on the electoral processes in the country.
He noted that NOA is desiring to communicating the government activities to the people through its various aggencies and INEC is one of the government agencies. While emphasising that the agency is building a structure where it can be responding to comments from Nigerians with ease.
