Political economist, Prof. Pat Utomi, human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), and humanitarian activist, Comrade Kennedy Iyere, have unveiled the Nigerian Youths and Women Political Emancipation Movement (NYWOPEM) and formally launched the #FixNASS2027 civic campaign in Lagos.

The unveiling, organised by the Youths Off The Street Initiative (YOTSI), brought together stakeholders from across political platforms, civil society, youth groups, religious bodies, and women-led organisations.

Speaking at the event, Iyere, who is also the founder of YOTSI, the 40Million Ballots Movement, and convener of the initiative, said NYWOPEM was conceived in response to what he described as the persistent under-representation of youths and women in governance, despite their numerical strength, which exceeds 60 per cent of the voting population.

According to him, while young people and women constitute a significant proportion of registered voters, their representation in the National Assembly and other elective positions remains comparatively low. He argued that this imbalance has limited inclusive policymaking and weakened public accountability.

Iyere explained that NYWOPEM seeks to provide a unifying electoral engagement platform through which youths and women can politically network to elect themselves into public offices, while also ensuring their voting power is effectively exercised in deciding election outcomes in Nigeria, thereby enforcing responsible leadership and accountable governance through democratic means.

At the event, the group also launched “#FixNASS2027,” a national political sensitisation and grassroots voter mobilisation campaign aimed at providing a unified peer-to-peer electoral engagement, networking, and mass mobilisation platform. The initiative is designed to encourage voters, especially youths and women, to unite and contest legislative offices in 2027 at the federal and state levels, as well as support credible candidates to replace incumbents perceived as lacking independence, functionality, patriotism, and respect for the electorate, particularly over their refusal to approve electronic transmission of election results in the proposed Electoral Act amendment.

“The need to entrench a people-driven, functional Nigerian federal and state legislature calls for the launch of #FixNASS2027, and that is what we have done today. Our gratitude goes to Prof. Pat Utomi and Femi Falana (SAN) for the roles they have played as key patrons of this movement. It is time for Nigerian youths and women to reverse elite political dominance by using their voting power as a tool,” Iyere said.

He described the initiative as a call for political reawakening, urging Nigerians to deploy their voting power strategically to demand performance and transparency from lawmakers.

Iyere clarified that the movement is not affiliated with any political party, stressing that its focus is on identifying and supporting individuals with exemplary competence and capacity, regardless of party platform. He added that prospective legislative candidates endorsed by the movement would be required to commit to written social contracts to ensure accountability.

He further called on Nigerians to mount more pressure on their Senators and members of the House of Representatives to push for the unconditional approval of real-time electronic transmission of election results, as widely demanded by citizens.

Iyere also alleged that some civil society groups had been compromised by politicians, hence their reluctance to intensify pressure on political officeholders. He said #FixNASS2027 would provide a lawful and peaceful civic platform where advocacy for the passage of a new electoral law would be taken to the homes and constituency offices of members of the current 10th National Assembly. He emphasised that the movement’s activities would remain non-violent and grounded in constitutional rights.

Falana called on the National Assembly to urgently amend the Electoral Act to make the electronic transmission of election results from polling units to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) central server compulsory.

According to him, the demand has become necessary following the 2023 general elections and subsequent Supreme Court judgments, which held that electronic transmission of results was optional under the current law. He noted that ahead of the 2023 elections, INEC had assured Nigerians, based on its guidelines and provisions of the Electoral Act, that accreditation would be conducted using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and that results would be electronically transmitted from polling units.

On his part, Prof. Utomi said the formal launch of NYWOPEM and #FixNASS2027 signals the beginning of sustained mobilisation efforts aimed at strengthening democratic participation and expanding opportunities for youths and women in Nigeria’s political landscape.

Utomi reinforced the call for mandatory electronic transmission, describing arguments about network limitations as unfounded. He maintained that once polling unit results are captured electronically, they can be uploaded once connectivity is available, rendering network concerns insufficient grounds for abandoning the system. He compared the process to digital banking platforms widely used across Nigeria, arguing that similar technology has proven reliable in financial transactions.

He warned lawmakers against actions that could undermine electoral credibility, stating that history would judge harshly any attempt to sustain processes that enable manipulation.