2019: OYO REC TASKS PARTIES ON FAIR PLAY

Political Parties and their candidates have been urged to shun all forms of hate speeches, fake news dissemination, vote buying and other acts of electoral vices ahead of the official commencement of campaigns for the Presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled to kick of on the 18th of November 2018.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) INEC in Oyo State, Barrister Mutiu Agboke made the call on Tuesday 13th November at an enlarged Stakeholders' Election Forum which was organized by INEC Oyo State in collaboration with the National Orientation Agency (NOA) in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.

Barrister Agboke noted that, continuous engagement with stakeholders in the electoral process remained one of the strategic priorities of the Commission aimed at fostering transparency and smooth conduct of elections.

The REC maintained that the introduction of the Smart Card Readers (SCRs) and PVCs remained the game changers in the electoral process in the country. He assured that the Commission is prepared to organize credible elections that would meet the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians in 2019.

On her part, the Director of National Orientation Agency (NOA) in the State, Mrs Dolapo Dosunmu commended INEC for broadening the space of engagement with stakeholders to deliver on its mandate.

Mrs Dosunmu stressed the need for all stakeholders to cooperate with the Commission in discouraging the spread of hate speeches/fake news in all forms and called on the electorate to rise above politics of money by ensuring only their votes cast without influence or inducement determined who emerged in winner in the forth coming elections.

The Guest Lecturer, and Director Institute for Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ibadan, Professor Tajudeen Akanji, was of the view that, democratic tenets have not been fully imbibed into the traditional ways of practicing democracy among the political class. This, he noted has given way to the spread of all forms of hate speeches, fake news, vote buying/selling, thuggery and other forms of electoral vices.

Prof. Akanji argued that for citizens to enjoy the dividends of democracy, the Electoral Management Body had to make electorate’s vote count.

He regretted that abject poverty, weak institution of democracy/weak media and double/multiple registration among citizens were responsible for irregularities observed in the electoral process at the moment.

Goodwill messages from Representative of Commissioner of Police, ASP Joseph Eribo, the Agba- Akin of Ibadan land Chief Lekan Alabi and IPAC Chairman Alhaji Waheed Oyewole, were all geared towards calling on the political class to allow for peaceful conduct of elections in 2019.

Source: INEC