Connected Advocacy unveils Groundbreaking Proposal to Protect Nigeria’s Elections from Climate Disruption

Connected Advocacy, a leading youth-led Civil Society Organisation committed to environmental justice and democratic reform, has unveiled a proposal to strengthen Nigeria’s electoral process against the growing threat of climate change.

This is contained in statement signed by Mr Israel Orekha, Executive Secretary, Connected Advocacy, made available to newsmen on Friday in Lagos.

Orekha titled the proposal “Strengthening Nigeria’s Democracy through Electoral Climate Reform.”

According to him, the proposal introduces the National Electoral Climate Preparedness Protocol (NECPP) a first-of its kind designed to ensure elections remain credible, accessible, and resilient despite climate-related disruptions such as flooding, extreme weather, and displacement.

“Recent elections have shown how climate risks can undermine logistics, suppress voter turnout, and erode public trust.

“We can no longer treat environmental hazards as separate from democratic integrity. This reform is essential to protect the voices of millions,” Orekha said.

He listed key interventions in the protocol to include:

“Embedding climate risk assessments in electoral planning.

“Enabling emergency voting options in disaster-affected communities.

“Securing voter registries with off-site digital backups.

“Building inter-agency coordination between INEC, NEMA, NiMET, National Council on Climate Change/Federal Ministry of Environment and security agencies.

“Rolling out multilingual civic education for vulnerable populations.”

The executive director said that the proposal outlined a phased implementation timeline, from stakeholder consultations and piloting in high-risk states to nationwide rollout and institutionalisation over the next three years.

He called on the INEC, the National Assembly, development partners, and civil society to support this innovative approach and position Nigeria as Africa’s leader in climate-adaptive electoral systems.