Ahead of the 2019 general elections in Nigeria, ActionAid Nigeria, a national non-governmental organisation and affiliate of ActionAid International yesterday signed a peace pact with representatives of the various Political Youth Groups as well as Community Youth leaders on the need to shun violence and thuggery before, during and after the elections.

ActionAid and the groups signed the peace pact at the Youth Consultative Forum on Violence free and credible election programme which held in Effurun near Warri.

The signing of the peace pact by Action Aid with the youth groups is the setting of an agenda for violence free electoral process in the forthcoming elections.

Hajara Opaluwa Adamu, Advisor Partbership/Local Rights Programme, Action Aid the peace pact was signed to address issues associated with electoral processes.

While noting that the project is aimed at building the capacity of the youths, Adamu said it is also for the youths to be contributors in the process of violence free elections.

“This is a new project and we hope to build the capacity of the youths. We signed the peace pact with the youths so that they can help address issues associated with electoral process so that they can address their peers, their groups and politicians will not use them this time around.”

The Chief Executive Officer of Environmental Rural Mediation Centre, ENVIRUMEDIC, Olorogun Ogheneruona Monday Itoghor stated that most of the youths who who engaged in election violence and ballot snatching are the vulnerable ones.

Itoghor said the only way to stop election violence is by sensitizing the youths, urging them to shun election violence and thuggery and ensure a violent free 2019 general elections.

“The approach we just introduced is to sensitize them and we have to also take the message back to the grassroots in the various rural communities too because we discover that it is not only the urban places they do election. All the nook and cranny of the State are where they organize election and it our duty to go to the hinterland to bring the youths together to sensitize them on how to shun this election violence.

Lectures were also delivered by resource persons at the forum.