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Bukola Afeni
The Chief Executive Officer of Connected Development, Hamzat Lawal has urged politicians not to always interfere in the electoral process, and ensure that peace reigns both during and after elections.
He made the disclosure while briefing Journalists at the presentation of the “Uzabe: Nigerian Decide 2023 Citizen-led elections report in Abuja.
According to him, people will continue to go to court and rely on the judiciary process, if they are aggrieved.
“It is always good to focus on the electoral process, and it is meant to be free and fair. The ballot gives us the power of the thumb. There is no cause for tension, and I believe that the Nigerian Judiciary system will ensure that nobody takes law into their hands”, he said.
He advised young Nigerians not to take laws into their hands but rather seek redress on the issue of Nigerian elections.
“Democracy is a process and we must get it right, we have made history by ensuring that nobody is tampered with for the next 50 years. I believe that we should build on that gate while closing the gaps. Nobody should take laws into their hands, and everyone should seek redress on the issues of Nigerian elections.
He noted that CODE will deploy observers in Kogi, Bayelsa, and Imo states for the November 11 elections.
He urged INEC to conduct elections within a day to reduce the cost it may incur on logistics and other expenses.
” We will coordinate observers in three states, they will send situation reports from all the local government areas in the states where the election will be conducted. We do not want unnecessary pressure on INEC”, he said.
He urged the electoral commission to address the major gaps that happened in the last 2023 elections.
In the same vein, he added that INEC should invest greatly in the human capital Development of the ad-hoc staff.
The Director of Program CODE, Lucy James said her organization is committed more than before to making a positive impact.
“We have been able to track and demand accountability in the system. We have been able to reach a wider audience. We have been able to scale our project across 36 states, and reach over 1000 communities”, she said.
The Director of Democracy, and Governance, CODE, Emmanuel Njoku, said the 2023 elections are far better compared to that of 2019 and 2015.
“The elections brought about the participation of youths in different parts of the country. Despite the challenges of uploading the Presidential election result, the election still went well”, he said.
Njoku also called for electoral reform of INEC to address major challenges during elections .
