Ahead of Saturday’s governorship election, the Nigeria Civil Society has appealed to political parties to shun activities that could trigger violence before, during and after the election.
The NCS Coordinator, Mr Clement Nwankwo, made the appeal at a press conference on Friday in Osogbo.
Nwankwo also urged security agencies to be vigilant and apprehend those engaged in vote buying without necessarily waiting for election officials to point them out.
He, however, expressed worry over the welfare of policemen that would be on election duty, saying some of them have been sleeping in classrooms.
” This raises a question of their proper and optimum conduct in the course of the election,’’ Nwankwo said.
He commended the Independent National Electoral Commission for its smooth distribution of sensitive materials to all the 30 Local Government Areas in the state.
Nwankwo urged INEC to ensure accessibility of People Living With Disabilities to the polling units and also provide materials that would aid their participation in all the polling units.
He also said that INEC should ensure that ad hoc staff paste form EC 60E at polling units for transparency and accountability.
Nwankwo added that INEC should also open up its electronic collation system for viewing and attestation by independent observers.
He said more than 70 civil society organisations were represented in the NSC situation room, adding that they would be relying on their field observers and partner organisations distributed across the local councils to form its analysis.
Nwankwo further said that the NSC situation room observed that voters across the state were highly motivated and mobilised to cast their vote.
” The situation room calls on all stakeholders in the election process to live up to the expectation of Nigerians.
” It also calls on INEC to deliver free, fair and credible elections and to approach this election with responsibility and utmost respect to democratic standards,’’ Nwankwo said.
