Delta State Governor Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan has urged gubernatorial and state house of assembly candidates to ensure a peaceful and violent-free elections on Saturday, April 11.
Speaking on Tuesday, April 07, 2015 during an Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) Select Stakeholders’ Emergency Meeting in Asaba, Gov. Uduaghan said that the candidates have an onerous duty to ensure that they maintain the existing peace in the state stressing: “Those of you in this hall can ensure that we have a violent free election come April 11th. Let me inform you that 8years is short but 4years is shorter nobody should die for your ambition, no blood should be spilled for your ambition”
“We want to thank the gubernatorial candidates here for their peaceful campaign so far. You have campaigned in a manner that is civilized people are allowed into all areas to campaign. I want to appeal that we maintain the peace; Delta state needs peace, God will give us a peaceful person that will take over from me because Delta state is a peaceful state”.
The governor charged INEC to inform the electorate early enough on any changes to its electoral rules adding that with all the effort of INEC “I hope that the card reader will perform better than it did in the last election”.
Dr. Uduaghan decried the problem of people publishing fake results on social media to the detriment of the peace and security of the nation.
“Let me remind us that INEC is the proper and feat body to collate result, we should allow it to do its job, a lot of rumors especially on social media can cause problems”.
He commended INEC for organizing the forum stating that it has given it the opportunity to hear from the political parties on the challenges of the last election and create a forum for the exchange of information to ensure that the next election would be better.
Earlier the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner Mr. Aniedi Ikiowak stated that the meeting was called to address all identified challenges in the March 28th elections and to proffer ways in dealing with these challenges to make the April 11TH election credible.
He assured the stakeholders that adequate measures were being put in place to ensure a hitch free election stressing that all the logistics and card reader challenges experienced in the last election were being adequately addressed.
While reminding party agents to work within their limit in the course of electoral material distribution and not to disrupt the work of the commission, Mr. Ikiowak however called for the protection of all INEC staff especially the adhoc staff in the course of their duties.
Speaking on behalf of the security agents the Deputy Commissioner of Police Mr. Zaki Mohammed assured the stakeholders of the readiness of the security agencies to provide adequate security before, during and after the elections adding that politicians should caution their supporters to be law abiding.
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