Stakeholders
By Kevin Okunzuwa
Benin, July 26, 2018(NAN) Stakeholders in Benin have said criminalising vote buying will help to set the stage for credible elections in Nigeria.
The stakeholders expressed the view in a communique issued at the end of a symposium organised by the Correspondents’ Chapel of Nigeria Union of Journalists, Edo chapter, in Benin on Thursday.
The stakeholders included representatives of political parties, such as APC and PDP, traditional rulers, civil society groups and media workers.
In the communique, jointly signed by Mr Kevin Okunzuwa and Mr Ofure Osehobo, the stakeholders noted that credible, free and fair elections, were necessary for vibrant and acceptable democratic growth in Nigeria.
The communique was issued at the end of the chapel’s second symposium series with the theme, “2019: The Role of INEC, Politicians and Stakeholders in credible Elections’’.
The stakeholders frowned at the absence of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies who were critical stakeholders in the electoral process at the conference.
They urged both INEC and security agencies to assert their independence to restore public confidence in the electoral process.
The stakeholders also urged political parties to promote internal democracy to discourage movements across parties, money politics and violence.
They called for constant and sustained political engagement through public enlightenment by the media, INEC and other stakeholders for the sustenance of true democratic growth.
They also called on the media to “avoid partisanship and stick to their avowed responsibilities as enshrined and guaranteed by the constitution’’ of Federal Republic of Nigeria. (NAN)
KOO/JCE
=======
Edited by Chukwudi Ekezie