The Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has cautioned against monetary inducement and other forms of electoral malpractices ahead of the Ekiti State governorship election.
This is contained in remarks by Engineer Yabagi Yusuf Sani, national chairman of IPAC, at a sensitization forum on peaceful conduct of 2022 governorship election in Ekiti State held at Ado Ekiti, yesterday.
He said the political party leaders and candidates in the election, must resist the temptation, out of desperation, to resort to the deployment of thugs or material and financial inducement of security agents and INEC officials to compromise any stage in the voting process.
He appealed to the security agencies and their operatives engaged to provide security during the election to embark on their assignment with maximum professional and ethical standards.
He said officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, must give hope to the people of Ekiti, the rest of the nation and the world at large, that, the era of daylight robbery of the people’s right to choose their representatives is over in Nigeria.
“To us in IPAC, Ekiti 2022 is a litmus test to INEC on the veracity and integrity of the otherwise, commendable administrative reforms and technological innovations introduced recently by the Commission with the lofty goals of delivering credible and transparently free and fair elections. There is no gainsaying the fact that, INEC cannot afford and must not fail in the attainment of the noble goals,” he said.
“To the people of Ekiti State, the message from IPAC, is that, they must resist all attempts to deceive, intimidate or induce them into compromising their fundamental, inalienable right to freely elect the political leaders of their choice. In other words, for whatever reasons, the electorate in the 18th June 2022 governorship election must be guided by their conscience, their obligations to the advancement of their welfare, their security, the happiness and prosperity of the future generations.
“Twenty three years down the line, Nigeria has come a long way and waxing very strongly on the path of democracy. It is the historic responsibility of the generation of the country today, to strive to keep the torch of democracy aloft and burning. As I have severally pointed out at various fora: Humanity has yet to create a better approach to a sustainable and genuine democracy more than the right of citizens to freely elect their leaders through the ballot box. This is because, a compromised, twisted and corrupted electoral system is tantamount to any other system but democracy.
In Ekiti State on the 18th of June, 2022, we should all endeavour to prove to the rest of the world that Nigeria has come of age as a democracy,” he added.
