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2023 elections, litmus test for Nigeria, says IPAC
“Will the political gladiators be ready to subdue narrow partisan ambitions to the superior demands of the country? Will the politicians allow for the free reigns of the electorate in the choice of their leaders? Are Nigerians in general, prepared for the challenge of free and credible elections by not allowing themselves to be used as instruments of violence?
National Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC, Engr. Yabagi Yusuf Sani, has said that the 2023 general elections, would serve as a litmus test for Nigeria.
Sani stated this during the anti-electoral offence, violence and crime forum and unveiling of hand book on electoral offences, violence and crime for 2023 general elections by Princewill Okorie, with the theme: “Enforcement Of Electoral Offences Segment Of Electoral Act 2022: Key To Peaceful, Credible, Violence And Crime Free 2023 General Elections In Nigeria.”
According to the IPAC Chairman, the 2023 general elections would be a decisive year for Nigeria, one that he said Nigerians cannot toil with.
He said, “Going by certain peculiar developments, the 2023 general elections in Nigeria will be coming as a litmus test for the nation’s democracy. Perhaps, more than any other one before it since 1999, the forthcoming elections put the country at a very critical cross road where Nigerians must get it right.
“For one, will the present political leadership allow for an unfettered conduct of elections without interfering with the electoral process? In other words, will President Muhammadu Buhari keep to his avowed and repeated assurance given at several local and international platforms, to supervise a free and transparent elections?
“Does the nation’s electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, possess all the needed resources, the commitment and the real autonomy to deliver on its statutory mandate? Are the law enforcement agencies adequately prepared and disposed to go about their constitutional responsibilities without compromising their professional ethics?
“Will the political gladiators be ready to subdue narrow partisan ambitions to the superior demands of the country? Will the politicians allow for the free reigns of the electorate in the choice of their leaders? Are Nigerians in general, prepared for the challenge of free and credible elections by not allowing themselves to be used as instruments of violence?
“In his treatise, Comrade Princewill Okorie believes that the 2023 general elections can be devoid of violence, rigging and all other forms of election crimes, if, the provisions of the 2022 Electoral Act are faithfully observed and effected. We in IPAC are on the same page with him.”
