From Noah Ebije, Kaduna

As the presidential campaign for the 2023 election kicks off, Integrity Group for Better Nigeria (IGBN), a civil society group, has called on all politicians to avoid character assassination and focus instead on issue-based campaigns.

The nonpartisan group said it is undemocratic for politicians to engage in campaigns of calumny, and appealed to them to play politics by the rules of the electoral law.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday in Kaduna as part of their outreach to voters and politicians alike, the chairman of the group, Alhaji Danlami Bawa and vice chairman Chief Patrick Lawson along with other members noted that the ongoing intra-party crisis rocking some political parties was uncalled for.

Alhaji Bawa said it was wrong for political parties to engulf themselves in internal crisis when they were supposed to put heads together to deliver their respective candidate at the forthcoming polls.

Read also: FG, IFAD move to improve VCDP implementation in Nasarawa

He cautioned the political parties and the politicians to desist from washing their dirty linen in public over issues that could be settled amicably in order to move the party forward.

Related News

“It is absurd to see politicians who are preparing to the country washing their dirty linen in the public sphere.

“As a non-partisan group, we are deeply worried that political parties and their actors are engaged in internal wranglings at a time when they should perfect their winning games for the forthcoming elections.

“As long as we are not for a certain group or a political party, we want to also advise that the electorate should not allow themselves to be used by politicians to claim political victory.

“We are appealing to youths and other political supporters not to allow themselves to be used as thugs before, during and after the election.

“The good thing about this election is that it is a secret ballot. So every electorate is at liberty to vote for a candidate of his or her choice without infringing on another person’s choice.

“We must all play according to the rules of the electoral laws so that at the day end of the day we should come up with a free and fair election for the betterment of our dear country, Nigeria,” Bawa said.