Edo 2024: Diaspora group urges credible poll
By Ozioruva Aliu
BENIN CITY – A group based in the Diaspora, Edo Concerned Citizens Worldwide on Thursday called for a credible election and urged all the stakeholders involved in the exercise to play by the rules.
The group also frowned at the utterances of some prominent leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) including President Bola Tinubu when he received the candidate of the party, the Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former governor of the state, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole who it claimed made some comments that could create crisis.
A statement by Mr. Larry Irabor and Mr. Jimoh Eronmwon on behalf of the group “The people, we believe, should be given the right, which democracy allows them, to freely choose whoever they wish to succeed the outgoing governor.”
They said “By this notice, we are calling on relevant stakeholders, including the United Nations, UN, the African Union, AU, Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, the United States, US, United Kingdom, UK, European Union, EU, others that are conscious of the vital need for people-driven, true democracy, as enshrined as global democratic best practise, to rise to the occasion and do the following:
“Prevail on the President, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, Sen. Adams Oshiomhole, the APC Aparachik, and their cohorts, to desist from further making incendiary statements which have rigging implications, threats, capable of inflaming passion and turning the state into a conflagration war theatre, as the run-up to the scheduled Edo 2024 reaches high gears.
“Watch out and ensure that all structured instruments, including necessary arrangements already laid out for a free and fair election are strictly and duly activated in line with extant electoral acts, preparatory to the election.
“Prevail on the President, others, not to browbeat, manipulate or arm-twist the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, into conducting an election that does not reflect the will of the people.
“We request the UK makes good its commitment to support credible and inclusive elections, and encourage allied nations to do the same. International election observers, including the EU Electoral Observation Mission, have declared election procedures were not always followed.
“The elections are a test of democracy in Africa. Electoral malpractice threatens the stability of the West Africa sub-region. An unstable Nigeria may increase refugee flow into Europe when the Government is already meeting resource commitments for current refugees. By identifying and imposing sanctions on any responsible persons, the UK can lead from the front, in countering democratic retrogression.
“We wish to reiterate that our major concern is to have a level playing ground which guarantees absolute respect for the will of the people of Edo state.”
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