By Dada Ahmed in Lokoja.
KONGONET & CODE managementm
,,,A total of 5,169,692 Nigerians, with PVC, participate in kogi, Imo, Bayelsa.
,,,Special consideration for PWD voters.
,,,INEC set, KONGONET,CODE stress peaceful, credible election.
Kogi state reached a critical moment on Friday in its democratic journey with the Chairperson, Kogi NGOs NETWORK(KONGONET), Amb.Idris Ozevehe Muraina, calling on all major stakeholders in the state to ensure a peaceful and credible election.
According to INEC, 1,833,160 eligible voters in kogi state will cast their votes in the 21 local government areas of the the state on Saturday to elect one out of the 18 candidates vying for the number one political office in the state.
Muraina made the call on Friday in Lokoja at the Security, CSOs, INEC and MEDIA round-table session on peaceful gubernatorial election in state.
He said:”It is imperative that we, as stakeholders in the electoral process, uphold the highest standards of professional conduct to ensure a peaceful and fair election.”
According to him, KOGONET has, as its core mandate, the mandate to work with diverse stakeholders (State and non-state actors) to create enabling environment for CSOs operations, promote participatory democracy and good governance for the benefit of kogites.
CSOs, NGOs and other stakeholders during the KONGONET & CODE event.
He reminded the CSOs of their vital role in promoting transparency,accountability and good governance and urged them to remain unbiased, impartial and objective even during the conduct of the election.
Their role, he added, should be driven by the pursuit of truth, justice and the best interest of the people of the state.
On the security agencies, KONGONET boss called on them to maintain law and order.
“It is crucial that you carry out your duties with utmost professionalism , impartiality, and respect for human rights,”he stressed.
To INEC,he urged the electoral umpire to ensure the conduct of alfree, fair, credible and verifiable elections.
Muraina also urged journalists to exercise responsible journalism, adhering to the principles of fairness, accuracy, and impartial.
L”Report the news objectively, without sensationalism or bias and contribute immensely to the promotion of peace and stability,” he further urged the journalists.
Contributing, Mr.Hamzat B. Lawal,
Chief Executive,Connected Development ( CODE ), described the election, taking place in Imo, Bayelsa and Kogi states on Saturday as a significant juncture where citizens of three states would determine the trajectory of their respectful state for the next four years.
” Regardless of individual preferences, let us have faith in the electoral process and commit to upholding the tenets of democracy.
“Together, we can make the governorship elections in Kogi, Imo, and Bayelsa exemplary demonstrations of our collective commitment to democracy”, he further urged the citizens of the three states.
Speaking through the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, in Kogi state, Dr.Gabriel Longpet, the INEC chairman, Prof.Mahmood Yukubu, disclosed that over 5 million Nigerians with Permanent Voters’ Cards, PVCs, would participate in the cycle elections in the three states.
He assured Nigerians that INEC is fully prepared to conduct, free, fair and peaceful, credible and inclusive elections.
“We have delivered all sensitive and non-sensitive materials for the elections.
“The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, have been configured for deployment to polling units as the only means of voter verification and finger.facial biometric authentication of voters,”,he said.
Yabubu added that all election duty officials had been trained, pointing out that arrangements had been made for land and maritime transportation to enable the commission commence voting on schedule.
The INEC boss promised that in spite of the extremely difficult terrain and physical infrastructure in some locations in kogi, officials scheduled for the conduct of the election the commission is determined to ensure its officials “are there waiting for voters rather than the voters waiting for our arrival.”
Answering questions from journalists during the conference, The REC, assured the people with disabilities,PWDs that they would vote.
He said towards this end, the commission had procured braille jackets and specific ballot papers and would avail PWDs(visually impaired) these materials to enable them identify the name and party of the candidate they would cast their votes for.
According to him, the elderly, nursing mothers and PWDs, adding that the albinos would also be given magnify glasses to enable them see clearly, the candidate and the logo of the party of their choice for voting among other inclusive programmes of the commission.
