Citizens PULSE initiative enlightens Veritas students on governance, civic participation

The Citizens Participation in Governance Capstone Group, 2026 has stressed the need for Nigerians, particularly young people, to understand the constitutional roles of elected public office holders as a foundation for active and informed participation in governance.

The Pulse Initiative through its panelists spoke at a public lecture on “Citizens’ Participation in Governance” held at Veritas University, Bwari, Abuja, as part of the physical activation of the Citizens P.U.L.S.E Initiative, a capstone project of the School of Politics, Policy and Governance (SPPG) Class of 2026. The project’s physical activation at the university was led by Ujueze Augustus Somtoo, Esq.

According to Somtoo, the initiative led by Folarin Olabinri was conceived to address one of Nigeria’s most significant civic knowledge gaps—the inability of many citizens to accurately identify the constitutional responsibilities of elected officials across the executive and legislative arms at the federal, state and local government levels.

He explained that P.U.L.S.E, which stands for Participating, Unlearning, Learning, Sharing and Evolving, is a structured, evidence-based civic education programme designed to strengthen democratic participation through role-based civic education.

“The Citizens P.U.L.S.E Initiative exists to close the civic knowledge gap by helping Nigerians understand what their elected representatives are constitutionally mandated to do. Citizens can only hold leaders accountable when they understand the responsibilities attached to each office,” Somtoo said.

He noted that the initiative combines gamified Civic Lab activations, multilingual animated explainer videos covering elected positions across the three tiers of government, peer-to-peer Citizen Reporter tools and a baseline-to-endline measurement framework to evaluate improvements in civic knowledge.

The event, organised in partnership with Veritas University and other stakeholders, exposed students to practical discussions on democratic participation, accountability and responsible citizenship.

A major highlight of the programme was the swearing-in of about 15 Veritas University students as ambassadors of the Citizens P.U.L.S.E Initiative by Chinyere Moneme, SAN. The ambassadors are expected to promote civic education and encourage greater citizen participation within their communities.

The Citizens Participation in Governance Capstone Group was established by the School of Politics, Policy and Governance (SPPG), Nigeria’s foremost unconventional school of public leadership founded on the #FixPolitics mission to attract, develop and produce a new generation of political leaders anchored on character, competence and capacity for public service.

UPDATE NEWS:

Nigerians can now invest ₦2.5 million on premium domains and profit about ₦17-₦25 million. All earnings paid in US Dollars. Rather than wonder,

click here to find out how it works.