Kogi 2023: Group Urges Tight Security For Free, Fair Election

Ahead of the 2023 governorship elections in Kogi state, a Liberation group has urged President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to all security agencies in the state to own up to their responsibility in securing the lives and properties of citizens and ensure free and fair election.

The group, under the aegis of Kogi Conscience Liberation Movement (KCLM) made the call in Abuja on Friday while briefing the press on the state of Kogi governorship election 2023.

LEADERSHIP reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed 11th November 2023 as one of the off-season elections amongst 3 states of Kogi, Bayelsa and Imo.

While presenting the text of the conference, the Coordinator of the group, Comrade Peter Onuma urged all stakeholder in the forthcoming electioneering should be conscious of their roles as it will either make or mare the process.

He said, “In the light of this we hope to draw the attention of the President and commander in Chief of The armed forces President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other critical stakeholders on the under listed issues of National concern:

“Security Pre and post Elections: it is no longer news that the current security situation in Kogi State Calls for an urgent intervention as there have been compromise on various fronts resulting from the pressure of the current administration of Governor Yahaya Bello to ensure a forceful entrance of his anointed candidate Usman Ododo (The Governorship Candidate of APC) into the number one seat of the state.

“In achieving this thugs backed by the state Government have been unleashed on the peace loving people of Kogi state visiting them with various degree of violence and brigandage all over the state most prominently in the Eastern Senatorial district where killing have become a recurring event on a daily basis.

“We use this medium to call on the president and Commander in chief of the armed forces to at this point call for immediate intervention of all security agencies in Kogi state to own up to their responsibility in securing the lives and properties of citizens who now lives in perpetual fears of attack.

“We wish to say unequivocally that election is not war! In a similar vein to remind the president that Kogi people deserve better attention on the current state of affairs than it is been getting as their support for him in the last presidential election was based on the assurance of a renewed hope in words and in deeds,” he added.

The Movement also lamented the
politicization of Federal Government Palliatives, saying that the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu have been politicized in Kogi state.

“While it is distributed with utmost disrespect for the dignity of the target audience it is also done with exchange of pvc cards or numbers more disturbing that it is all branded in the APC candidates posters thus misinforming our illiterate populace on actual source of the palliative.

“It is also important to note the subhuman ration of the palliative that is been received by the citizens even the elderly since many received food items of very shameful quantity as against their contemporaries in other states.”

Further, he said urged INEC to restore people’s hope and trust on since there are great fears from civil populace on the assurance of maintaining with sanctity limits of their statutory duties in ensuring free, fair and credible elections as an umpire while international community will be watching.

“Thus this is the litmus test for the integrity of elections under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu; being the first election under his leadership and the renewed hope agenda.”