Youth group launches tech platform to help Nigerians track politicians campaign promises

AdvoKC, a youth-led civic tech organization has launched its digital platform to allow citizens to hold elected political officers accountable for their camping promises months after the election.

The digital platform dubbed ‘Promise Meter’ which launched on Saturday after months of beta testing on Substack was developed with the mission to address the gap between government officials and effective service delivery.

Explaining the purpose of the ‘Promise Meter’ the group said in a statement released after the launch that “in Nigeria, voters are inspired to work for the candidate or political party whose campaign promises agree with their social, economic, and political needs. But are always disappointed when these promises are not kept.

AdvoKC also seeks to increase the rate of the fulfilment of campaign promises among political office holders, the group said in the statement.

Habib Sheidu, AdvoKC’s Co-Founder/Research Lead, explained that the digital platform leverages technology through its data-driven promise meters to articulate political promises which are made during political campaigns.

He said it uses different ratings such as “In the Works,” “Compromise,” “Stalled,” “Promise Kept” and “Promise Broken.”

Habib noted that AdvoKC promise meter will show promise ratings for citizens to make informed decisions during every election cycle.

Abiola Durodola, AdvoKC’s Co-Founder/Team Lead, while speaking said the model is not only focused on addressing transparency and accountability but also citizens engagement and participation in Nigeria as politicians use promises as a political strategy to garner votes during campaigns.

He added that a core mandate of the group is to address the issue of political elites in Nigeria exploiting poverty and illiteracy to mobilize voters with food items and money without delivering on their promises every election cycle.

During the launch, the group announced the appointment of Serah Makka-Ugbabe, ONE Campaign Executive Director on Mobilisation as the Chairman of its Advisory Board. The team also announced the appointment of Dayo Ibitoye, Communication and Knowledge Management Specialist at World Bank; Olumide Abimbola, the Executive Director, Africa Policy Research Institute; Ms Faith Nwadishi, Executive Director, CTA, and Dr Aliyu Nuhu, a doctoral student at LSE into its Advisory Board.

Beyond the ‘Promise Meter’ the group noted that citizens can also access other features like Submit a Promise, Promise Reminder, Factcheck and Climate AdvoKC.

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