Ahead of the 2023 general elections in Enugu, Political parties and her candidates in the State have signed a Peace Accord to ensure a peaceful, free, fair and credible elections in the general elections.
INEC has fixed Saturday, Feb. 25, for Presidential and National Assembly elections as well as Saturday, March 11, for the Governorship and State Assembly elections.
Supervising the signing on Thursday in Enugu, the states Commissioner of Police, Mr Ahmed Ammani, said the candidates signing of the Peace Accord was a sign of their sincere commitment to tow the line of peace.
Ammani noted that the candidates and their political party leaders signing of the Peace Accord was also a sign of obedience to extant laws in the conduct of electioneering activities before, during and after the elections.
According to him, we do this document signing believing very strongly that election is never a do-or-die affair and that in every contest of this nature, there must be a winner and a loser.
The commissioner, however, advised that the winners in the elections must, as a matter of fact, be magnanimous in victory, while the losers must be gracious in defeat.
“Therefore, we seek your voluntary cooperation and sincere endorsement of this Peace Accord, as a sign of your genuine commitment to conduct your electioneering affairs in the most legally and morally acceptable manner.
“Note that this exercise is done in good faith and completely devoid of any form of compulsion, as we intend to get nothing but your sincere commitment to peace and transparency for peaceful, credible and acceptable general elections in the state.”
CP Ammani assured the political parties and their candidates of their commitment to give a level playing ground to all.
“The assurance I bring to you and the good of Enugu State is that the police, in active collaboration with other security agencies, will continue to work very hard to maintain security.
“We (security agencies) will do everything within our powers to remain non-partisan and provide a level playing ground for all of you to carry out your legitimate electioneering activities before, during and after the elections,” he said.
In his remark, the Enugu State INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr Chukwuemeka Chukwu, said that the commission is ready for the election and has been doing all within their powers to ensure a credible process.
Chukwu noted that INEC has maintained its election timetable as well as carried out the necessary activities such as the training of security agencies, revealing that the training of Ad-hoc staff will commence on the 11th of February. Also, the training of persons with disability isn’t left out.
Hailing the political parties for their conducts so far, the INEC Boss urged them to be mindful of their activities because the commission as the watchdog of the process, will be watching and will interrogate their actions, including campaign spendings.
Continuing, he admonished the political players to maintain peace because election isn’t war, as such, they should learn how to managed their differences, while assuring them that the commission will will uphold the spirit of fairness in the conduct of the election in Enugu State and the country at large.
He advised them to be ready to demonstrate the spirit of true sportsmanship and take the outcome of the election in good faith.
Speaking, Chief Edwin Alor, the state Chairman of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), lauded political parties and political gladiators for maintaining peace within the state since the lifting of campaigns.
Alor said that Enugu State had remained peaceful since electioneering activities started; while the political parties had ensured their members, supporters and followers had maintained practical decorum.
In his message, Igwe Emmanuel Ugwu, the Chairman of Enugu State Peace and Security Committee, urged political parties to keep restraining their supporters to refrain from inflammatory statements and actions.
“We should shun hate speech as well as campaign of calumny and lies; but base our campaigns on issues affecting the people,” Ugwu, who is also the Traditional Ruler of Ibegwa Nike community, said.
