Wale Jagun
The 2nd Ikorodu Division Legislative Debate designed to create a platform for interaction between the electorate and candidates, will be held at the Ikorodu Ultra – Modern Town Hall on Sunday, January 22, 2023, organisers have revealed.
Conveners of the debate made this known during an online unveiling of the initiative on THE IMPACT WhatsApp platform on Tuesday.
The debate, which is organized by the Real Initiatives and Concerned Ikorodu Division Youth (CIDY), is done in collaboration with the management of the Ikorodu Town Hall and other bodies.
Speaking during the session, Mr Seun Elesho, who represents the Real Initiatives, in his review of the maiden debate, said that it was a huge success which was copied by other sections of the state.
He added that the debate will provide candidates a platform to advance their plans for the people and also for the electorate to know those that they are giving their mandate to.
“The 2023 Ikorodu Legislative Debate is the second of its kind; we held the first edition in 2019, when we had all the Lagos State House of Assembly contenders participating in the first of its kind. All Political parties were represented and it was a big success”, he said.
“I must say that other parts of Lagos State, particularly Eti – Osa, adopted our template after they invited us to explain how we went about the 2019 edition. The first edition was done in collaboration with the Ikorodu Divisional Youth movement, and was greatly supported by Ikorodu people, including the Ikorodu Division Resource Development Group.
“We decided to institute this debate to enable the constituents to have a one-on-one discussion with their representatives; to help the candidates also to conceptualize their plans and thoughts so that they are kept on the right track. It is also to ensure that the constituents have something to hold their representatives for, when they finally win elections and get to office”, he explained further.
The Coordinator of the Concerned Ikorodu Division Youth (CIDY), Kunle Adelabu, in his own statement, said:
“The 2023 Legislative Debate has been organized for the purpose of creating a platform for the electorate and those aspiring to represent them to interact. It is an opportunity for the people to hear from the candidates what their programmes are and ask them questions.
Elesho, explaining the focus of this year’s debate, said:
“We are involving all House of Assembly candidates; both Ikorodu Constituency l and ll, and also the House of Representatives constituency.
Adelabu added that, “In addition, this year’s debate is themed, ‘Legislation As A Tool For Development’. Through this engagement, we are advancing the constituents’ interests and hope to reflect what they are expecting from the candidates seeking to represent them”, he added.
The organisers, who also said that they are building their capacity to hold Governorship and Presidential debates in future, also explained that they are collaborating with non – governmental, international groups and others to have another successful edition.
“We are involving many other partners e.g. EIE, Yaga Africa, SAID, Budgit Foundation etc. We are particular about the credibility and transparency of this event. We are talking to one of the big audit firms in Nigeria to check our process, but we have not concluded with them yet”, Elesho said.
“On the funding, we have partners and reputable ones for that matter. There is no single financier of this event; the larger part of its funding is from both REAL Initiatives and CIDY….”, he explained.
“Also, we are collaborating with the town hall management, media organisations among others that believe in the initiative”, Adelabu added.
The Convener of the Real initiatives, Elesho, speaking on the format that the debate will take, said:
“There shall be a moderator from a reputable media organization who would anchor the question and answer, session. Debaters shall be allowed quality time to express themselves, while questions and answers from contenders would be allowed”.
While stating that responses from the candidates to the debate so far is encouraging, organisers further charged them to ensure that they attended the upcoming session in person to represent their parties, and present their programmes to the electorate.
Adelabu, speaking on participation by the members of the public, said:
“Critical stakeholders are going to be invited to be part of the audience since the debate is meant for them to assess candidates seeking their mandates, but it’s not going to be all – comers affair…”, he said.
Organisers also enjoined members of the public to mail their questions to an email address that would be made public soon.
