Politics
A Group known as Centre for Liberty, in collaboration with Smiles Africa International Youth Development Initiative, has called on the electorate in Edo to reject financial inducement during the governorship election on Saturday.
Mr Ariyo-Dare Atoye, the Co-Convener, Centre for Liberty, made the call during a rally held in Benin.
Atoye said that the rally became necessary to complement other critical stakeholders’ contributions towards ensuring a violence-free election.
“We want to specifically admonish the people of Edo to reject financial inducements and shun violence during the election.
“We are calling on Edo people not to sell their votes. If you sell your votes, the implications are that it is going to be difficult to demand good governance in the next four years from whoever wins the election.
“It is important that the people of Edo exercise their franchise without inducement, intimidation, or violence.
“We are here basically with our supporters in the state to plead for peace ahead of the election. We want the security agencies to be alive to their duties and responsibilities tomorrow, and ensure that nobody is stopped from voting tomorrow,” he said.
According to him, the next four years is very crucial to the people of Edo. “Good governance is very crucial and without an election, we cannot have good leaders, and without good leaders, we cannot have good governance,” he said.
Atoye also warned the youth against allowing themselves to be used for violence by greedy politicians.
“We are appealing to stakeholders to send back those boys that they want to deploy for violence. It is time to get it right in Nigeria,” he noted.
Also speaking, the Executive Director of Smiles Africa International Youth Initiative, Purpose Iserhienrhien, called on President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly to urgently amend the electoral law.
Iserhienrhien said: “We are calling on lawmakers to urgently amend and pass the Electoral Act. “We are having this problem because we have a faulty Electoral Act that creates room for violence and malpractices to take place without prescribed sanctions.
“If all these things are taken care of by the Electoral Act, our work as civil society will not be to preach for a peaceful election but to preach against voters apathy,” he said.
Mrs. Deborah Ajayi- Eseni, Founder of Gift A Child Initiative, also called for the amendment of the electoral act that would make politics safe for women.
According to Eseni, the foundation of every democracy is a credible electoral process.
“So, we are lending our voices to call for the amendment of the electoral act that would protect the interest of every Nigerian,” she said. (NAN)
– Sept. 18, 2020 @ 17:35 GMT |
Tags: Edo 2020: Group tells electorate to reject inducement
