From Ogbonnaya Ndukwe, Aba
Barely a month to Nigeria’s general election, civil society organizations in Abia State have expressed worry on the activities of some persons and groups to truncate its successful conduct.
They regretted that while the President Muhammadu Buhari administration had promised free and fair polls on February 25 and March 11, the growing effects of hardship are staring Nigerians in the face, with those charged with getting the economy out of the woods looking the other way.
The CSOs spoke under the auspices of Abia State chapter of Civil Societies Action Coalition on Education for All (CSACEFA), an affiliate of the national body, with over 600 member organizations.
The state/South East coordinator, Mrs. Eunice Egbuna, who addressed journalists in Aba, noted that people were daily inundated with violence from state and non-state actors, known and unknown, which has raised doubts on the possibility of holding the elections, despite assurances that all would go as planned.
“We are daily inundated with cases of violence from state and non-state actors, known and unknown, which now raise doubts over the possibility of the elections.
“The question is, how prepared are we as a nation to confront these challenges head-on? What efforts and institutional frameworks have been put in place to ensure we get it right?”
Quoting from various media sources, Egbuna, said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had suffered over 50 attacks in 15 states across the nation within the last four years, adding that the frequency and intensity of the attacks had increased as the elections draw nearer, causing palpable fear.
She said the attacks, which had led to loss of lives of security operatives, point to a determination to intimidate the populace and derail the electoral process in a bid to possibly sustain the status quo.
“It appears some fifth columnists are determined to truncate the electoral process, derail and deprive Nigerians of credible elections, going by the fact that, after signing of the peace accord, many candidates are resorting to mudslinging, misinformation and chicanery to divert the attention of the electorate through non-issues.”
While regretting further, the inability of the electorate to collect their permanent voters cards (PVCs), which they were able to register for, CSACEFA said it was happy that INEC recently extended the period of collection of the cards by those yet to do so, but wants the electoral umpire to audit its own processes beyond making promises it cannot keep.
On the political dispensation in Abia, the group expressed concerns over the lingering issues of non-payment of salaries, pensions arrears, poor management of children’s education, as well as lack of any recorded inputs from political aspirants.
The group said, apart from mounting billboards at strategic locations in parts of the state, there was no serious engagement and debate to interrogate the candidates, hence the need to bring them together to listen to what they will provide for the people, if elected.