Sunday Ani
Rising from the first quarterly meeting of its Standing Committee in Lagos, last Friday, the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has urged those aggrieved with the election to follow due process in seeking redress.
The NGE also condemned the violence that characterised the February 23 presidential and National Assembly elections in many parts of the country, which led to loss of lives and burning of several electoral materials.
The Guild arrived at the conclusion after its standing committee extensively discussed the 2019 general election, with particular reference to the presidential and National Assembly elections.
It noted that there was a compelling and urgent need to address the lapses observed during the elections in order to ensure a better exercise in future, particularly the coming gubernatorial and state assembly elections.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, which was signed by its President and Secretary General, Mrs. Funke Egbemode and Victoria Ibanga, respectively, the Guild also noted that government, security agencies, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as well as politicians, must live above board and avoid every action that could lead to breakdown of law and order in future elections.
The Guild also implored aggrieved parties to, “follow due process in seeking redress for any perceived injustice arising from the polls, even as it advised the new administration, as a matter of urgency, to set up machinery to carry out electoral reforms so that elections in future would be better organised.
“This will guarantee a more credible and acceptable process.”