National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee, Barrister Festus Okoye the Anambra governorship election will further test the resilience of Nigerian’s democracy.
Okoye who spoke on Tuesday at the stakeholders meeting at Awka Anambra state said the Anambra governorship election has its unique features and characteristics added that it would test the resolve of the commission to conduct elections in difficult circumstances.
He recalled that “the commission conducted the Edo and Ondo governorship election under very difficult circumstances”, adding that “those elections were conducted at a time of global uncertainty and fear accentuated by a pandemic whose unique nuances were still evolving.”
The INEC commissioner noted that “the commission conducted elections at a time when advanced countries rescheduled, postponed or abandoned their elections on account of the pandemic.”
He said ongoing agitations in different parts of the country including Anambra state is not new to deeply divided societies like Nigeria challenged by contestations around nationhood and citizenship.
Okoye further said that to address the issues, democracy still offers the best opportunity for addressing them in a peaceful manner, urging those genuinely interested in a stronger Nigeria to create enabling environment for peaceful election come Saturday.
He further said: “There is no doubt that democracy is not a finished product but work in progress. We believe that it is in the interest of our democracy, the interest of the people of Anambra state and in the interest of the people of Nigeria to conduct an acceptable election in Anambra state”.
