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‘Rate Your Leader’s Authoritative Expert on Digital Democracy’

Published

4 years ago

October 3, 2019

Eric

A tech entrepreneur and the brain behind the new democracy project, Rate Your Leader App, Mr Joel Popoola, has lamented the fact that most voters who queue to elect leaders in various elections do not know the identity of the candidates who they are voting for.

Mr Popoola made the observation while fielding questions during an interview with RT Television, one of United Kingdom’s biggest television news channel, where he described how his invention, the Rate Your Leader App, is re-connecting electors and the elected and using abuse-proof technology to combat online harassment. RT is the news channel for an estimated 540, 000 people weekly.

He noted that quite a number of local voters cannot name their electoral representatives nor ever communicated with them from inception of office till when they leave.

“Too many voters are voting for people they don’t know. We have quite a number of local voters who cannot name their councillors,” he said, adding that they don’t have the slightest idea who they are.

He continued: “Likewise they cannot name their MPs, their mayors or their Police and Crime Commissioners. They are voting for people they don’t know”.

Stressing how the technology works, he said that Rate Your Leader is a free app, available from the Apple and Google Marketplaces, and it checks ‘users are registered to vote before identifying the MPs, councillors, mayors and Police and Crime Commissioners who serve them. The app afterwards allows users to communicate directly with these representatives in a way which makes abuse or harassment impossible’.

Hear him:

“It’s not healthy for democracy that so few electors know who their local representatives are – our research indicates less than half can name their MP, and roughly one in seven have no idea who their councillor is.

“The Rate Your Leader app lets voters check that they are registered to vote direct from their phone before connecting them directly to the politicians who serve them – allowing them to have meaningful two-way conversations about what matters most to them.

“Most importantly, unlike other social media platforms, our technology makes abuse or harassment impossible. If your message isn’t courteous and respectful, it doesn’t get sent.

“It’s a huge sign of how Rate Your Leader’s profile is growing internationally and that major international media organisations are taking notice and perceiving us to be authoritative experts on digital democracy”.

The Rate Your Leader app has a five star rating on the Google market, with one reviewer writing, “This is the new level of politics…better communication of leaders with the electorates and accountability”.

An ever-increasing number of MPs, councillors, MEPs and Police & Crime Commissioners have already taken advantage of the free democracy app to stay in touch with the people who elected them and to get their message out to confirmed voters in their constituencies, helping them truly understand what matters most to the people who elected them.

Featured

Shaibu Eats Humble Pie, Apologises to Obaseki, Says ‘I Missed My Gov’

Published

6 hours ago

September 22, 2023

Eric

Call it the eating of a humble pie, and you may not be wring as the embattled Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, apologised to Governor Godwin Obaseki amid a face-off between them.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday in Benin City, Mr Shaibu appealed to Governor Obaseki to forgive his “mistakes” for them to continue to work together, Channels TV reported.

“I use this medium to appeal to Mr Governor, if there is anything that I don’t know that I have done, please forgive me so that we can develop our state together,” he said.

“We have just one year to go. We have been the envy of the entire country. So, Mr Governor, if there is anything you feel that I have done, please I am sorry. I need us to work together to finish well and strong,” the deputy governor added.

When asked if he had resumed at his new office, Mr Shaibu said, “We have resumed but there is still a lot of work to be done there.

“There is no problem about it. The governor has asked us to go there. Like I have always tried to prove, I am a loyal servant and nothing has changed.

“I took a personal vow to support my governor and you can see my Catholic people are here. When I took a vow with God, nothing can change it and I wish that the relationship that we had will come back in the next few days and weeks.”

Mr Shaibu also said he has been missing the governor since their rift began, and expressed hope that God will “touch the governor’s heart” to forgive him.

“I mean well. If there is any mistake I have made as a human, it is not out of wickedness because I know I’m not wicked. I have a very clean heart.”

Featured

Tinubu Moves to Stop Release of Academic Records, Appeals US Court Judgement

Published

19 hours ago

September 21, 2023

Eric

President Bola Tinubu has appealed against the ruling of Judge Jeffrey T. Gilbert, sitting at the United States’ District Court of Northern Illinois which ordered the Chicago State University (CSU) to release all relevant records pertaining to him.

SaharaReporters had reported how the federal court in Chicago, while ruling on the civil case filed by Atiku Abubakar, on Tuesday granted the applicant’s request to the court, stating that former Nigeria’s vice-president had been able to sufficiently satisfy the purpose for seeking the records.

In the judgement documents seen by SaharaReporters on Wednesday, Judge Jeffrey Gilbert also ordered a deposition of designated CSU officials within two days after the records have been released, noting further that the process can be conducted during the weekend if necessary.

However, as the school prepared to surrender the papers, Tinubu filed an emergency motion in the district, requesting a higher judge to reconsider Mr Gilbert’s September 19 ruling and postpone the execution until at least September 25, according to People’s Gazette.

“Due to the timing for compliance by Chicago State University – later today – Intervenor is filing this motion separately from its challenge to the Magistrate’s ruling on the application,” Mr Tinubu’s lawyers, led by Christopher Carmichael, said. “Intervenor intends to file, by the end of the day, a substantive brief addressing the errors in the Magistrate’s decision.”

SaharaReporters

Featured

Boy Whose ‘Intestine Went Missing in Lagos Hospital’ Dies

Published

3 days ago

September 19, 2023

Eric

Twelve-year-old Adebola Akin-Bright, whose small intestine went missing during surgery in the hospital has died.

A close member of the family confirmed the tragedy to BBC News Pidgin, adding that Adebola suffered from internal bleeding.

He was subsequently rushed to the intensive care unit of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) but he did not make it.

Adebola had been battling to survive after multiple surgeries were performed on him and it was confirmed that his small intestine was missing.

His mother, Abiodun Deborah had decried the non-intervention of the Lagos State Government, under the leadership of Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the Nigerian Medical Association in the mysterious disappearance of the small intestine of her 12-year-old son while receiving treatment at LASUTH.

Deborah who spoke to SaharaReporters earlier in September narrated how her son, Adebola, was referred to LASUTH from a private hospital, Obitoks Medical Centre situated at Ileepo in the Alimosho Local Government Area of the state on June 17 following a complication from surgery to correct intestinal obstruction.

According to the mother, her son was said to have a ruptured appendix and he had surgery at Obitoks Medical Centre in February 2023.

“After the surgery, he was fine until June when he kept saying he had pain in the stomach. This made us go back to the hospital and the doctor said he had intestinal obstruction and he underwent another surgery,” the mother told SaharaReporters.

She revealed further more than seven days after her son had the second surgery, they noticed that he was still draining bilious fluid.

“We went back to the private hospital and the Chief Medical Doctor told us the boy would undergo another surgery and it will be with the help of a professor from Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH.

“This was why we decided to move to LASUTH since the professor is from there so that they can have total management,” she said.

She added the management of LASUTH told them the boy should not undergo another surgery immediately but they kept nursing him.

SaharaReporters