Ahead of the Ekiti state governorship
election that comes up on Saturday. June 21st, the coalition of young Nigerians
promoting good governance and citizen engagement, Enough is Enough Nigeria (EiE
Nigeria), will host a live televised debate with the leading candidates on
Sunday, June 1st, in Ado Ekiti, the state capital.
The Chief Executive Officer for (EiE
Nigeria), Ms. Yemi Adamolekun, said in a release Friday in Lagos that of the 18
candidates vying for the position of Governor, only the four leading candidates
were invited to participate in the debate, and this zero down to incumbent
governor, Kayode Fayemi, of the All Progressives Congress (APC); former
governor, Ayo Fayose of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); Opeyemi Bamidele of
the Labour Party (LP); and the Accord Party flagbearer, Kole Ajayi.
All the candidates accepted to
participate, according to Ms. Adamolekun, except Mr. Fayose of PDP who she
said, “declined to participate in the debate,” adding however that the
participating candidates are expected to articulate their plans for Ekiti youth
with special focus on education, security, power supply and
employment/enterprise.
Four years ago, the group created the
RSVP (Register|Select|Vote|Protect) Campaign to leverage technology, especially
social media, to mobilize significant participation from citizens in the
18-35-age bloc.
Enough is Enough Nigeria started the
tradition of hosting youth-focused debates in 2011, when it co-hosted the first
youth-focused presidential debate in the country.
It has also hosted governorship
debates in Cross River and Anambra (in partnership with Channels TV). The Ekiti
debate is hosted in partnership with three television stations, the local EKTV,
and NTA Ekiti both in the state and the Lagos based satellite station, TVC.