By Ishaya Ibrahim
With just hours to the poll, stakeholders in the Saturday poll have been urged to play by the rules and avoid acts that could upset the peace.
At a webinar hosted by the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) on the theme – Strengthening the Fabric of Democracy: Promoting Peaceful and non-violent Electoral Processes in Nigeria, speakers say this Saturday’s election provides an opportunity for Nigerians to consolidate democracy.
South West zonal coordinator of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Lucas Koyejo, said this election is momentous for the citizens to vote for the persons that could make their lives better.
He said: “Your right to vote and be voted for is sacrosanct. This is because whoever you vote for will make decisions that have bearings with your social and economic rights.”
Koyejo said as part of the contribution of NHRC to the quality of Nigeria’s democracy, they organized a town hall to assess the mindset of the candidates on human rights issues. He said some of the candidates showed up, while some didn’t. He urged the voters to be mindful of those they put in public office.
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Executive director of the Rule of Law, Accountability and Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), Okechukwu Nwanguma, said the professionalism of the police in this Saturday’s election would be tested, urging them to play by the rules in ensuring a level playground for all actors.
On the involvement of soldiers in providing election security, Nwanguma said Nigeria currently has a peculiar situation that requires their involvement. He, is, however, hopeful that the country’s democracy would one day mature to the level where even police officers would not be required during polling.
For project director of Vision Springs Initiative, Ngozi Nwosu-Juba, Nigeria has not made significant progress in creating a conducive atmosphere for the involvement of women in politics.
She wondered how many women could have afforded the N100 million nomination form of one of the political parties, saying that was a way of shutting the door against them.
She said even the Not-Too-Young-To-Run law is more favourable to young men than young women.
She urged the government to meet the 35 per cent threshold set for women’s involvement in public affairs.