Ahead of the upcoming governorship elections in Imo, Bayelsa and Kogi states, the Senate has appealed to eligible voters never to submit themselves to be used by desperate politicians for electoral manipulations.

The manipulations, the Senate lamented, are capable of disrupting the entire electoral process and called on politicians as actors in the process to conduct themselves with integrity, humility and decency before, during and after elections.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, Sharafadeen Alli, who made the appeal, yesterday, in Abuja, during a stakeholders’ meeting convened by the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, also urged security agencies to review and enforce additional mechanisms.

According to him, it is only commitment from both security officials and the citizens that can guarantee an improvement in the electoral system.

He said that the National Assembly had commenced its oversight function with the engagement of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in connection with the preparedness towards the off-cycle elections in the respective states.

“For the electorate and the citizens, they should be willing to perform their civic responsibility without submitting themselves to manipulations that can disrupt the electoral process. With these commitments, we are bound to improve the system.

“It is the responsibility of the National Assembly to improve upon the electoral legal framework and it is the responsibility of INEC to improve on its operational mechanism and electoral administration processes for future elections. It is also the responsibility of politicians as actors in the process to conduct themselves with integrity, humility and decency before, during and after elections.”

Alli, therefore, urged participants to take advantage of the gathering as important issues would be discussed and recommendations made to solve challenges that might undermine the off-cycle elections.

In his remarks, Convener of the meeting and Executive Director of the Centre for Information Technology and Development, Mr. Y. Z Ya’u, reiterated the importance of the upcoming elections in shaping the trajectory of electoral democracy in Nigeria.

Also, the Residents Electoral Commissioner (REC), Bayelsa State, Obo Effanga, noted that the police had assured them of deploying 27,000 personnel to aid election security. (The Guardian)

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