EiE Election Call Centre Report

#NigeriaDecides2023

EiE Election Report

Call Centre

an initiative of EiE Nigeria in collaboration with INEC Lagos, to improve voter participation and complaint handling during the elections.

LAGOS

ABOUT THIS REPORT

#NigeriaDecides2023

Election Call Centre Report

Enough is Enough Nigeria (EiE) is committed to raising a generation of active citizens willing to put in the work required to chart the course for a new Nigeria that thrives onthefundamentalsofjustice,accountabilityandequity. From educating citizens extensively, using mainstream and new media/digital tools; creating initiatives to bring the government at all levels closer to the people; and developing compelling infographics & articles on topical issues, EiE has consistently steered critical campaigns and conversationsinNigeria.

Enough is Enough Nigeria (EiE) is a non-partisan network of individuals and organisations committed to institutingacultureofgoodgovernanceandpublicaccountabilityinNigeriathroughactivecitizenship.

EiEwas set up as the next step from two citizens’protests in 2010 on ourmissing President, killings inJos and fuelscarcity

We focus on Nigerians of voting age, , because they are the largest voting especially 18 - 35 year olds demography

PROGRAMS & ACTIVITIES

In addition to our activism aka “street protests,” our work is divided into three broad buckets summarisedbelow.

ELECTIONS

Drive the 4 essential actions required from citizens in the electoral process - to Register vote; credible candidates; Select Vote NOT fight & your Protect vote on election day & during the 4-year election cycle. It is Nigeria’s longest-running and one of its most prominent voter education campaigns.

#RSVP

#OfficeOfTheCitizen

Educate citizens on their rights and responsibilities“The Office of the Citizen is the highest office in the land!” Activities include radio programs in several states across the country; a monthly convening in Lagos, a pan-African bi-annual conference called New Media, Citizens & Governance (NMCG) and public interest litigation.

LEGISLATIVE ENGAGEMENT & ADVOCACY

Facilitate productive engagements between citizens and their representatives at the federal, state and local government levels while promoting transparency & accountability This is done through tech-enabled platforms, physical and virtual town halls and public interest litigation.

#OpenNASS

EiE’s flagship voter education campaign, drives the 4 essential actions required of citizens in the P#RSV electoral process. - Register to vote; - Select credible candidate; -Vote not fight; - Protect your vote

on election day and during the 4-year cycle.

V - Vote Not Fight

As citizens prepared for the 2023 general elections, EiE entered into the VotenotFight phase of its #RSVP campaign. EiE observed the need for citizens to communicate with INEC before,during,andaftertheelections.

The new Electoral Act, 2022 brought significant changes to the electoral process EiE in partnership with INEC Lagos leveraged a network of volunteers to set up a 72-hour EiE Nigeria Elections Call Centre as a first stop to assist citizens to solve the basic issues they encounteredonelectionday.

ACTIVITIES

Engagement of Consol Limited

We engaged Consol Limited (ConSol), a leading provider of Contact Centre Services, Consultancy Services & Enterprise Solutions in Nigeria toprovidetrainingandfacilitiesfor theproject.

Training

EiE Nigeria in collaboration with ConSol delivered an intensive 4-hour training for 12 Call Center volunteers. The training took volunteers through types of customers and how to respond to them, communication skills, how to use the call center equipment, how to record complaints, and what to escalate to INEC agents, Nigeria Police, Nigeria Army, EFCC, and basic INEC FAQs and solutions.11volunteerswereengaged.

Interactive Voice Response (IVR)

EIE Nigeria had an IVR message played when thevolunteerCallCenteragentswereonbreak.

The IVR said; “Dear Active Citizen, Thank you for contacting the EiE Lagos Election Call Centre, your call is very important to us. While we are away, please call INEC Lagos Officials on 08179438145or08145419483or09056369789”

Intimidation of voters

Volunteer Shifts

Thevolunteerswerein2shifts.

Team A

6 team members ran the 6 am - 6 pm shift

Team B

5 team members ran the 7 pm to 6 am shift.

Volunteershadintermittentbreaksasneeded.

COMPLAINTS

Voters being intimidated by supporters of some political parties Some voters were reportedly threatened with violence if they did not vote for a particularcandidate.

Irregularities in the Voting Process

This included malfunctioning of the electronic voting machines Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and long waiting times. These irregularities led to frustrationanddisenfranchisementofmanyvoters.

Lateness of INEC officials

Delay in the commencement ofvoting in some polling units.This caused somevoters towait forseveralhours before casting their votes or being told that the voting periodisover

Lack of Transparency

Some INEC officials claimed that theyare not to upload the result of the polling units.This lack of transparency raises questions about the credibilityand legitimacyof theelection.

CHALLENGES

Short planning time Mobility

The initiative was planned within a short period and with limited resources to execute.

Low media publicity

Due to short planning time, EiE could not leverage its media strength in full capacity. However, lessons learned from the process have been used in designing a new media plan for the gubernatorial elections.

There is restriction of movement during elections, so logisticsaremoreexpensivetodeploy

INEC’s Non-availibility

INEC’s contacts were not available and their officials werehardtoreachinsomecases.

HIGHLIGHTS & TESTIMONIALS

Volunteers testified to have learned a lot and some might consider careers in the telecommunications industry by virtue of their training.

ConSol Ltd. identified EiE volunteers that they may engage for employment because of the skills and talents they displayed during the training and the course of the program.

“The trainingwe had priorto the election dayat the callcenterhad tremendously improved my active listening abilities as well as helped me understand how to interact with the various types of customers.Asavoiceoverartist,thisisagreatskilltohaveandIam happythatIvolunteeredforthisproject"

"As much as I was unable to vote in the elections, I am really happy thatIwasabletoassistvoterswhohadissueslocatingtheirpolling units and exercising theirfranchise.That counts forsomething and

IncreaseEiE'sreachanddatabase.

Promote governance and accountability.

Bridge the trust deficit between citizensandINEC.

Increasevoterparticipation.

Engage radio stations that will feed live from the questions and situations reportedtotheCallCenter

Expand the Call Center to cater for citizensoutsideLagos.

ORIYOMI ABAGUN Volunteer

Iamgratefulfortheopportunity”

TOLUWA EYIKOGBE Volunteer

By the end of the weekend, our agents had attended to over 200 citizens proffering first-handinformationthateasedtheelectoralprocessforthem.