When elections come, Nigerians should give it the seriousness it deserves. It is vital that the best leadership emerges from these elections for our collective future. There has never been a general election with so many traps like this. At the same time, the stakes are so high that botched elections or electing incompetent candidates could signal a final nosedive for Nigeria. PREMIUM TIMES proposes the following guidance to citizens.
Elections are held at a time of suffering, anger and frustration among citizens. The cost of living crisis and the spike in food prices, in particular, have made life very difficult for many Nigerians. As if that was not enough, several months of fuel shortages added to the crisis due to rising fuel costs and the emergence of long queues at filling stations. In this context, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele decided to start the naira redesign policy, basically confiscating the money Nigerians have and refusing to replace old naira notes with new ones. . This is at a time when most people have little or no disposable income, with government currency confiscations compounding the problem. When the election is about to be held, citizens should try to remain calm despite their frustration and anger.
President Buhari and Mr. Emefiele have tried to justify the currency confiscation program by arguing that many major political actors have stolen a lot of money, which they used to buy votes, because of the policy and the suffering it will cause. many are good at promoting electoral integrity and fighting corruption in Nigeria. This newspaper is always firm in its advocacy to advance the fight against corruption. We have also repeatedly stated that this government has failed in its promise to fight corruption. We did not see signs that have changed the way, as it stands at the departure gate.
The bitter irony of the situation is that the severe cash crisis in the country and the desperation of citizens for money at this time will make it easier for politicians to buy votes cheaply. Let’s be clear, politicians are also placed to mop up the limited cash that is allowed in circulation. The intense struggle that has developed between President Buhari and the governor of the state, the decision of the president to ignore the directive of the Supreme Court on the matter, the rumors about the postponement of the election and the interim government, all have increased the concern of the citizens on the issue. the future of Nigerian democracy. At this time, democrats and citizens must remain steadfast in their support of the Constitution and conduct elections as scheduled.
This will not be an easy task. A credible election organization needs money. Much of INEC’s election logistics, such as the procurement of vehicles, is done in cash. The large number of ad hoc staff required for successful election work requires money to go to call stations at this time which is almost impossible to get money from the bank. Political parties and candidates also need cash to deploy agents to the country’s 176,846 polling units. The party that decided to distribute polling agents to all units at N5,000 per unit needs N880,230,000 to do so. The Central Bank seems to be telling them to transfer the bank to the agent, which will be good in the environment where it can be done. The fact that we all know is that there is a high rate of transaction failure in electronic cash transfers and even if this is successful, getting money for travel will be impossible at this time. This CBN/Federal Government policy move is therefore not designed to improve electoral integrity. It is a mischievous policy to throw spanners into the election logistics work. Citizens should put pressure on the government to make immediate efforts so that INEC and the citizens can get their money immediately.
We are not surprised that many Nigerians read the tea leaves and suspect that the design of the policy was made to spoil the election. Nigeria must act intelligently. We must fight the provocations that lead to so many acts of violence. We must keep the peace. We all need to make the decision to get out and vote.
When we do the franchise, we must realize that as voters, we voluntarily chose the most incompetent Federal Government in the history of our country in 2015 and 2019. The result is eight years later, the country, economy and politics are worse than him. is in 2015. The next government will find the economy bankrupt and the country divided first. That is why it is important that the voters think deeply and make sure that they vote for the candidate that they think has the best competence and integrity to lead us out of the current decay. Additionally, voters must learn to navigate the dangerous booby traps that pop up every minute on social and traditional media. Citizens must be aware of the excessive level of manipulation aimed at diverting citizens from the real issue of the election – electing a leader with competence and integrity. We must resist the temptation to get caught up in playing hate games and harmful speeches.
Finally, there are risks associated with election results that can open up the possibility of further dangers if there are false claims about the results. Thanks to the efforts of INEC and the 2022 Electoral Act, the election will be transparent and credible. BVAS will ensure that only eligible voters participate and additional “votes” cannot be added later.
Considering the 2019 debate, no false votes were subtracted or added by INEC servers. At the end of voting in each polling unit, the results will be counted in the presence of the voters and written on the EC 60E poster, which will then be posted on the wall. This is the result that will be taken through scanning and sent through BVAS directly to INEC see the portal that all citizens and voters will be able to see live. This transparency means that everyone will see the results when they log in and citizens, candidates and parties can check that the results on the portal reflect what was compiled in the polling unit. Therefore, all citizens must participate in confirming that the results of the portal replicate what was calculated in the polling unit. Good luck to all of us who are able to go to the TPS to do our civic responsibilities.
Importantly, citizens and voters should be mindful of the actions of the security forces, especially the police, who are encouraged to act honestly as non-partisan participants in the electoral process. It is quite unfortunate that they have a history of not always aligned with the forces that sought to maintain the integrity of the past few elections, but destroyed some of them through various subversive actions, including thumb-printing of ballots, and enabling violence on Election Day , etc. Thugs and other actors or sponsors of violence, who may want to destabilize the electoral process, must be quickly and arrested with the necessary effectiveness. Therefore, the Inspector General of Police should be seen as the talk of the season, which ultimately facilitates a safe, free and fair election administration regime across the country.
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