fbpx
Advertisement
  • Home
  • World News
    UK to ban TikTok on gov’t phones

    UK to ban TikTok on gov’t phones

    UK plans to ease visa policy amid labour shortages

    UK plans to ease visa policy amid labour shortages

    White House applauds bill seeking TikTok ban

    White House applauds bill seeking TikTok ban

    Brazil’s biggest serial killer shot dead

    Brazil’s biggest serial killer shot dead

    Over 1,300 killed as powerful quake rocks Turkey, Syria

    Over 1,300 killed as powerful quake rocks Turkey, Syria

  • Politics
    • All
    • Politics Roundup
    Adamawa APC denies purported suspension of North East National Vice Chairman

    PDP floors Labour Party as INEC releases result of last Abia LGA

    PDP clears Diri for Bayelsa gov election

    PDP clears Diri for Bayelsa gov election

    Imo governorship: No consensus, except Ihedioha steps down – PDP National Secretary

    Imo governorship: No consensus, except Ihedioha steps down – PDP National Secretary

    Herdsmen crisis: Makinde deploys 200 Amotekun operatives in Ibarapa

    PDP National Publicity Secretary congratulates Makinde on re-election

    Ethnic comment: Northern elders distance selves from Atiku

    Adamawa guber poll: Release results today unfailingly, Atiku warns INEC

    • Politics Roundup
  • Business
    • All
    • Exclusive Economy
    The reversing gear of inflation in Nigeria’s economy

    CBN MPC increases interest rate to 18%

    Muhammad Nami’s Midas touch: FIRS collects N5.03trn as revenue

    N10.1trn tax revenue: FIRS has again broken the jinx

    Tax harmonisation: FIRS signs MoU with LIRS for Joint Tax Operations and Audit

    Tax harmonisation: FIRS signs MoU with LIRS for Joint Tax Operations and Audit

    FIRS may lose N92bn revenue on VAT judgment to state

    FIRS makes FAAC Fat

    We’ll leverage on 2021 Finance Act to achieve adequate budget funding – FIRS

    Nami’s magic wand: Restructuring revenue collection in Nigeria

    • Exclusive Economy
  • Health
    Why infertility rate rising drastically —Gynaecologist

    Why infertility rate rising drastically —Gynaecologist

    Harmattan aids COVID-19 spread -Expert

    10,000 COVID-19 deaths recorded in one week, says WHO

    Resident doctors to NASS: ban govt officials from seeking healthcare abroad

    NARD to FG, others: Prevail on Ikpeazu to pay doctors’ 25-month salary arrears

    Covid-19 isolation centres remain open in Ekiti – Govt

    Lassa fever killed 189, infected 63 health workers – NCDC

    LivingScience Foundation opposes NAFDAC’s tolerance of mercury-containing childhood vaccines in Nigeria

    LivingScience Foundation opposes NAFDAC’s tolerance of mercury-containing childhood vaccines in Nigeria

  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Big Brother Naija
    • Film
    Nollywood actor, Fadeyi Oloro, is dead

    Nollywood actor, Fadeyi Oloro, is dead

    EndSARS: Sanwo-Olu’s ‘walk of peace’ invite a joke, disrespectful —Falz

    2023: Singer Falz urges Nigerians youths to cast their vote on saturday

    Veteran actress Maureen Okpoko loses sight, cries out

    Veteran actress Maureen Okpoko loses sight, cries out

    Court grants actress, Oluwadarasimi Omoseyi N5m bail

    Court grants actress, Oluwadarasimi Omoseyi N5m bail

    2023: Mr Macaroni vows he’ll never vote APC, PDP

    Mr Macaroni speaks about his picture on LP flyer, says he didn’t approve it

  • Sport
    ABS FC unveil 30 players for new NNL season, focus on NPFL ticket

    ABS FC unveil 30 players for new NNL season, focus on NPFL ticket

    Osimhen, down with COVID-19, pulls out of AFCON crackers

    Napoli slap £150m price tag on Osimhen – Report

    NFF explains situation with Super Eagles’ technical crew, says nobody was sacked

    NFF explains situation with Super Eagles’ technical crew, says nobody was sacked

    Rivers United CAF Confederation Cup quarter final ticket excites club owners

    Rivers United CAF Confederation Cup quarter final ticket excites club owners

    NFF wants improved refereeing in NPFL replicated in National League

    NFF wants improved refereeing in NPFL replicated in National League

  • Editorial
    Sultan, CAN Sign Peace Pact over 2023 general elections

    2023 general elections: Our concerns

    2023: Court directs INEC to react to fresh lawsuit seeking Tinubu’s disqualification

    TINUBU: A CAT WITH MANY LIVES

    2023, ATIKU AND THE CONSPIRACIES

    2023, ATIKU AND THE CONSPIRACIES

    Atiku, With Wike dine together in London

    Govs’ political jamboree in London scandalous

    Herdsmen crisis: Buhari doesn’t understand how grave the situation is – Soyinka

    Soyinka sails Pyrates out of Emi lokan sea

    • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Art
    • Beauty and wellness
    • Culture
    • Fashion and Style
    • Food
    • Love & relationship
    • Travel
    Join corruption fight, your future depends on it, Osinbajo tells Nigerian youths

    Join corruption fight, your future depends on it, Osinbajo tells Nigerian youths

    TK delivers masterclass at Crescent University

    TK delivers masterclass at Crescent University

    Teenage pregnancy in Africa and parenting: men get spared while ignorant, vulnerable women are speared

    Teenage pregnancy in Africa and parenting: men get spared while ignorant, vulnerable women are speared

    Unveiled: The Katsina politician named Tinubu’s running mate

    2023: Wike will work, help Tinubu win presidential election – Masari

    You want to live long? Get a second wife, study says

    You want to live long? Get a second wife, study says

    Yewa Paramount Ruler installs Odunaro Majeobaje Olu Ilaro Saturday

    Yewa Paramount Ruler installs Odunaro Majeobaje Olu Ilaro Saturday

    Ogun Eid-il-Fitr special prayers in pictures

    Ogun Eid-il-Fitr special prayers in pictures

    Nigeria’s deadly marriages: How 49 husbands, wives were killed in 15 months

    Nigeria’s deadly marriages: How 49 husbands, wives were killed in 15 months

    US hints on new Lassa fever vaccine trial in Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone

    US govt praises documentation of Osun Osogbo Sacred Groove

    10th Coronation Anniversary: Yewa Christians, Muslims hold special services for Olu Ilaro

    10th Coronation Anniversary: Yewa Christians, Muslims hold special services for Olu Ilaro

    • Travel
    • Pop culture
      Nigeria’s tech industry: where are the women?

      Nigeria’s tech industry: where are the women?

      Big Brother Naija: What 8 Nigerians think about this controversial show

      Big Brother Naija: What 8 Nigerians think about this controversial show

      nigerian youth

      A Simple Guide to Being an Angry Nigerian Youth

      Big brother naija

      Big Brother Naija Lockdown Reunion: A Recipe for Embarrassment

      chimamanda

      What Chimamanda Adichie’s Essay Says about Social Media Performativity and Conformity

      united african republic

      United African Republic: What is in a Name?

      Twitter is our 911: The Myth of Democracy in Nigeria

      Twitter is our 911: The Myth of Democracy in Nigeria

      THE COVID-19 SERIES

      Tech in Nigeria? Please

      Tech in Nigeria? Please

    • Love & relationship
    • Food
    • Fashion and Style
    • Culture
    • Beauty and wellness
    • Art
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
Home Editorial

2023 general elections: Our concerns

by FirstNews
February 23, 2023
in Editorial
Reading Time: 6min read
0
Sultan, CAN Sign Peace Pact over 2023 general elections
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

With the forthcoming 2023 general elections scheduled to begin on February 25, barely 24 hours away, Nigeria has become the cynosure of all eyes in the global arena while its electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission is, indeed, in the eye of the storm.

RelatedPosts

TINUBU: A CAT WITH MANY LIVES

2023, ATIKU AND THE CONSPIRACIES

Govs’ political jamboree in London scandalous

This is the seventh general elections since Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999. The forthcoming elections have been described by political analysts as a defining moment for the country as it is expected to be keenly contested with an outcome that will largely determine the future of Nigeria’s democracy.

Lately, stakeholders have continued to express serious concerns and worries over the conduct of a peaceful and credible elections in the country. INEC has an unenviable task of delivering credible elections under intense pressure from both domestic and international stakeholders, the electorate and the political parties. Early last month, the electoral body raised the alarm that the general elections might be cancelled if insecurity was not properly addressed.

INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, who was represented by the Chairman, Board of Electoral Institute, Prof Abdullahi Abdu Zuru, gave the warning at the Validation of Election Security Training Resources in Abuja. But following a rash of backlashes from social media commentators and even the Federal Government, the commission later made a U-turn, assuring Nigerians that the situation had been brought under control.

Even the United Nations and the Economic Community of West African States have lent their voices, warning Nigeria against violence in the forthcoming general elections. While the UN expressed fears that if things go wrong in Nigeria, there would be serious consequences for the peace and stability of the entire region, ECOWAS warned that if violence occurs in the country, no other nation in the sub-region has the capacity to accommodate refugees from Nigeria.

Already, scores of persons have been reportedly killed and several others injured in the 2023 general elections-related violence in different parts of the country. For instance, on January 19, 2023, some persons were seriously injured in two different explosions when hoodlums attacked the South-South campaign rallies of both the APC and the PDP with dynamites and even fired gunshots. Series of violent attacks have also been carried out on INEC offices and facilities in different parts of the country and several staff of the Commission and security personnel have been killed, particularly in the South-East where the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra has been fingered as the usual culprit.

The INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, while speaking as a guest at the Royal Institute of International Affair, popularly known as Chatham House in London in January, had revealed that between 2019 and 2022, the Commission suffered over 50 attacks on its facilities, usually in the form of arson and vandalisation in which buildings and election materials were destroyed.

Also, during the resumption of the House of Representatives plenary in January, after a short recess, Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila said it had become imperative to halt all threats to the conduct of the 2023 general elections.

Gbajabiamila had expressed regrets that there had been marked increase in the incidence of insecurity and vicious attacks on political actors in parts of the country.

He, therefore, warned that Nigerians “must unite to ensure that such a dangerous trend does not lead to circumstances that threaten the forthcoming elections.”

It is now clear that taking the alarm initially raised by INEC with a pinch of salt is courting trouble; it is dangerous! Of course, the worsening insecurity enveloping the country is real and ominous and it poses serious challenge to the hitch-free conduct of this year’s general elections. There are clear indications, just as INEC and other stakeholders have observed, that if care is not taken and proper security measures put in place, violence, terrorist threats and intimidation may mar the general elections kicking off on February 25.

For months before now, INEC has suffered multiple premeditated and coordinated attacks on its offices and facilities across the country in the run-up to the forthcoming general elections. Scores of the Commission’s offices have been burgled, ransacked and burnt down by hoodlums in different parts of the country, resulting in the destruction of thousands of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), ballot boxes, BVAS machines as well as other election materials. The latest of such attacks was the one on the commission’s office in Enugu South Local Government Area in which a policeman was shot dead. The gunmen also razed a section of the INEC office. Several violent incidents targeting INEC offices, staff and security personnel have also occurred afterwards.

These are no doubt enough warning signals that must be taken seriously by all concerned, particularly the security agencies and the government. INEC should not be seen as crying wolf where none exists. It is manifestly clear that the elections face serious threats in different parts of the country, particularly in the South-East geo-political zone, if effective preventive security measures are not urgently put in place before the polls commence in a few hours’ time.

One veritable source of violence and insecurity which INEC and the security agencies must focus on during the elections is, of course, voter inducement. According to Yiaga Africa’s pre-election report, vote buying and selling during elections have become rampant in at least 33 states in Nigeria with the fraudulent electoral act more prevalent in Abia, Bauchi, Borno, Delta, Katsina, Kano, Oyo and Sokoto.

It is now clear that taking the alarm initially raised by INEC with a pinch of salt is courting trouble; it is dangerous! Of course, the worsening insecurity enveloping the country is real and ominous and it poses serious challenge to the hitch-free conduct of this year’s general elections. There are clear indications, just as INEC and other stakeholders have observed, that if care is not taken and proper security measures put in place, violence, terrorist threats and intimidation may mar the February elections

The fear, therefore, is that this electoral crime and other factors predispose the 2023 general elections to manipulations by unscrupulous politicians, a situation which usually degenerates into political thugs and supporters of politicians unleashing violence on the opposition members on election day. But the situation can still be mitigated within the little time left for the conduct of the polls to begin. The Inter-Agency Committee on Election Security (IACESS) and other election stakeholders should immediately adopt more effective security framework to tackle all potential threats to the conduct of the general elections kicking off on February 25. This is a critical moment for INEC, the political parties, Civil Society Organisations, National Orientation Agency and other stakeholders to rise to the challenge of defending and protecting the integrity of the 2023 general elections. At this point in time, voter education targeted at women, youth and other citizens must be intensified and ramped up.

Given the high level of insecurity experienced in different parts of the country, it is our considered opinion that the 530, 538 security agents to be deployed for the general elections are definitely not adequate to provide security for the over 93million Nigerian voters, 707, 384 presiding officials, 17,685 supervisory presiding officers and 9,620 collation/returning officers expected to participate in the conduct of the polls.

Although the security challenge and attack on INEC facilities are beyond the Commission’s powers as insecurity poses a major threat to free and fair conduct of the polls, everyone including community and political leaders, must be carried along to ensure the delivery of credible elections. There is no doubt that violence will make deployment for elections difficult, especially in areas where the electoral process and the participants are made the target. INEC’s efforts at working with security agencies and other stakeholders to put in place mechanisms to understand, track and mitigate security challenges are, therefore, commendable and appreciated.

Security agencies must, however, be ready to act swiftly by arresting and prosecuting perpetrators of election-related violence in accordance with the law. They can no longer be treated as petty criminals. Security must also be reinforced around electoral personnel and infrastructure.

Above all, INEC will only be able to deliver on its mandate if security agents refrain from sabotaging the elections and refuse to allow themselves to be compromised by desperate politicians.

The recent decision by the Federal Government to seal a pact with the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) and West African Police Information Programme (WAPIS) towards ending insecurity in Nigeria is very gratifying. This initiative is long overdue and crucial during this period of elections in Nigeria, and its impact must be felt throughout this period and beyond.

It must be noted that adequate security is crucial to the conduct of free, fair and credible elections. Therefore, security agencies should immediately deploy innovative intelligence and other preventive security strategies to counter and even neutralize existing security threats. Doing this will create a salutary election environment where voters won’t be disenfranchised by anyone, group or circumstances from exercising their constitutional right and casting their vote under a peaceful and secure atmosphere.

Share199Tweet125Share50
FirstNews

FirstNews

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
10 most followed Nigerian comedians, skit makers on Instagram, Twitter

10 most followed Nigerian comedians, skit makers on Instagram, Twitter

May 22, 2021
Minors’ viral sex tape: Lagos govt closes Chrisland School indefinitely

Minors’ viral sex tape: Lagos govt closes Chrisland School indefinitely

April 18, 2022
Chief Onyechi bags Doctorate degree from Benin Republic university

Chief Onyechi bags Doctorate degree from Benin Republic university

April 18, 2022
Five benefits of sleeping more

Five benefits of sleeping more

3
Court orders Nnamdi Kanu remand in DSS custody

Court orders Nnamdi Kanu remand in DSS custody

3
No fewer than 109 foreigners from Benin Republic have been arrested by operatives of the Gombe State Police Command for alleged illegal entry into Nigeria.

Police nab kidnappers for trying to abduct lawyers, others

3
FAAC: FG, states, LGCs share N605.9bn for May

FG, states, LGs share N722bn federal allocation

March 22, 2023
Varsity admission: UK to crack down on Nigerians

We’re collating names of Nigerians who incited electoral violence – UK

March 22, 2023
Nigeria’s situation getting worse, Sultan cries out

Sultan announces sighting of new moon, says Ramadan begins Thursday

March 22, 2023
First News NG

Copyright © 2022 First Media Networks Limited

Site Navigation

  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • World News
  • Politics
    • Politics Roundup
  • Business
    • Exclusive Economy
  • Health
  • Entertainment
  • Sport
  • Editorial
    • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
    • Pop culture
    • Love & relationship
    • Food
    • Fashion and Style
    • Culture
    • Beauty and wellness
    • Art

Copyright © 2022 First Media Networks Limited