As the governorship election on November 11 draws closer, Imo State’s Governor Hope Uzodimma has reaffirmed his commitment to a nonviolent process.
In Owerri, Nigeria, on Friday, the state administration and the African Union Development Agency-New Partnership for Africa’s Development, or AUDA-NEPAD, together hosted a pre-election workshop.
Uzodimma, represented by his Deputy, Prof. Placid Njoku, called on stakeholders in the electioneering process to work towards a peaceful poll to enable votes to count.
He advised politicians not to make the election a do-or-die affair, but to abide by the rule of law so that the will of the masses will be reflected in the ballot.
“Politicians using youths to destroy the system should not be given the opportunity to govern.
“Votes must count and I urge security agencies to go after anyone who attempts to jeopardise the process,“ he said.
A representative of the AUDA-NEPAD, Mrs Gloria Akobundu, said the promotion of democracy and good governance, one of the five pillars of the AU, could not be achieved where elections were marred with violence.
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She charged the media and civil society organisations to “blow the trumpet of ‘No Violence’ during the election” and called for all hands to be on deck to ensure a peaceful, successful election.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that a highlight of the workshop was a road match by participants to publicly sensitise residents of the state to the gains of peaceful elections.
