YMonitor, The Future Project initiative to highlight crucial accountability and governance issues in Nigeria, on Sunday launched #MyFirstVote, a citizen participation project set up to galvanise new voters to get involved in elections at all levels.

Unveiled on Rubbin’ Minds on ChannelsTV, the goal of the project is to strengthen the involvement of young eligible voters by motivating them to vote and protect their votes, while highlighting possible issues and challenges for new voters willing to partake in the election process – especially how young voters make decisions on their preferred candidates.

Two newly registered voters, Nafisa Atiku, a lawyer, and Muyiwa Babarinde, a communications professional, joined show host, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu to discuss the issues while also advocating for a metric-driven parameter in making voting decisions, regardless of the candidate’s tribe, religion or social class.

As part of activites for #MyFirstVote campaign, The Future Project adopted cartoon illustrations titled ‘My Vote, My Voice’ as a tool to share information on how young people can actively take part in the election process. The illustrations are developed as a 3–step guide on how to get Permanent Voters Card (PVC), choosing the right candidate, and holding them accountable. Curated in 3 major Nigerian languages – Hausa, Ibo and Yoruba, the comic magazine will be distributed across the country at no cost, and can also be downloaded on https://thefutureafrica.com/my-vote-my-voice

Other YMonitor projects include Citizens Insight Game, YMonitor Quarterly Show, Grassroots Engagement Series, and Citizens Conversation on Radio.

For more information, visit www.ymonitor.org

Follow @Y_Monitor and @TFAAfrica to catch up with latest updates. The official hashtags are #MyFirstVote and #ActiveCitizens.

Watch the segment on Rubbin’Minds