The Arewa Consultative Forum on Monday said it would commence the sensitisation of eligible voters in the norther part of the country to voting procedures ahead of the 2015 general election.
The National Publicity Secretary of the forum, Alhaji Muhammad Ibrahim, said this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria in Kaduna.
Ibrahim said that the forum would use the mass media to educate voters before the elections.
Ibrahim said the aim was to encourage people to vote for credible candidates that “will provide good leadership and good governance in the interest of Nigerians and Nigeria”.
He stressed that the country required a leadership that would navigate Nigeria out of its current quagmire.
He added: “We hope to mobilise Nigerians through this advocacy programme to effectively participate in the electoral process.
“Most importantly, the issue of holding a peaceful and fair election in 2015 at all levels must be the concern of all, as the vote of each eligible voter must count.”
To achieve this, Ibrahim said the ACF had developed jingles in English and Hausa languages to be aired on radio stations, as well as posters and pamphlets for distribution across the region.
He also said that the forum would sensitise the youth against engaging in violence before, during and after elections.
On the guidelines announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission for the 2015 election, Ibrahim said the ACF would support the commission, in spite of its opposition to the procedures.
According to him, the ACF had advocated for the election to hold in one day as against the staggered elections announced by INEC.
Ibrahim said the forum believed that holding the election in one day would reduce the problems of logistics, bandwagon effect and misuse of state resources to fund individual campaigns.
On security during the polls, the ACF, he said, would oppose any attempt to use the military to intimidate voters.
He urged the Federal Government to provide level playing field to all political parties, to have fair and credible elections.