02 October 2014 – The Director General of the Peoples Democratic Institute (PDI), Dr. Lanre Adebayo together with his staff called on Philippine Ambassador Alex Lamadrid to Nigeria on September 24 at the Philippine Embassy chancery in Abuja.

Dr. Adebayo informed that PDI wished to partner with the Embassy  because the Philippines and Nigeria share common ideals, in addition to PDI’s perception of the Philippines as a strong ally.

Dr. Adebayo presented Ambassador Lamadrid PDI’s projects focusing on voters education of three highly disadvantaged groups, namely the youth, women and the physically challenged. The Director General also wanted to strategize on how to enrich the content of political discourse and discourage violence during election period.

Ambassador Lamadrid highlighted the advances the Philippines had made in the electoral process. The Philippines’ strong points, according to the Philippine Ambassador, are the inclusion and promotion of the marginalized sectors in democratic process through the Sangguniang Kabataan elections and the Party-List system, as well as the significant participation of women in all branches of government, overseas voting and the automation of elections.

While PDI was originally a creation of the ruling People’s Democratic Party, PDI is an independent private NGO whose mission is to promote a new democracy culture in Nigeria and Africa through the provision of value-added education, training, capacity building, research and documentation programs. END