The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has advised political youth activists in the Garu District in the Upper East Region to be agents of peace before, during and after the 2024 general elections.

Samuel Akolgo, the Garu District Director of the Commission, who gave the advice, urged them to be tolerant and respectful of each other’s opinions to build social cohesion to prevent electoral violence in the presidential and parliamentary elections.

The District Director was speaking to some political youth activists in Garu as part of efforts to improve the knowledge and attitudes of the youth to ensure a culture of peaceful coexistence, tolerance and non-violence ahead of the December polls.

The engagement formed part of the European Union (EU) sponsored project, dubbed “Preventing and Containing Violent Extremism (PCVE),” being implemented by the NCCE in eight regions of Ghana.

It aimed at empowering the youth to understand the concept of electoral violence and how they could build political and ethnic tolerance to ensure social cohesion ahead of the 2024 elections.

It was to also educate the youth on the activities of violent extremism and how to build resilience against being radicalised and recruited into extremist groups to destabilise the country.

Assistant Superintendent of Police, Adu Isaac, the Garu District Police Commander who took the participants through identifying and countering mis/disinformation and electoral violence, urged the public to be vigilant against violent extremism.

He called on the youth to lead by the slogan “See something, say something,” to assist the security in combating crime by reporting suspicious characters and revealing relevant information to the security agents for prompt actions.

Mr Adot-Abdul Mumuni, the Ghana National Fire Service Commander, took the participants through the role of youth in promoting peace and peaceful coexistence as well as inter-faith tolerance.

He urged them to play a critical role to ensure peace and stability in their respective communities.