2023: How Campaigns By Politicians Violate Electoral Act – CSOs Situation Room
Ahead of Saturday, February 25, 2023 general elections, Civil Society Organisations’ Situation Room, has expressed serious concern over what it described as the “deliberate over-heating” of the polity with hate comments and campaigns of calumny by politicians that are completely in contravention of Section 92 of the Electoral Act.
This was just as the Head of Missions, Leadership and Accountability Initiatives, Mr. Henry Shield Nwazuluahu, particularly noted what he described as the deliberate misinformation being sponsored by politicians ahead of the polls, stressing that such a development portends serious danger for the advancement of democracy and good governance in the country.
Speaking at a radio town hall meeting against electoral corruption, organized by the Progressive Impact Organisation for Community Development (PRIMORG), in Abuja, the Co-Convener of the Civil Society Situation Room, Mr. James Ugochukwu, while reflecting on the preparations ahead of the elections, stressed that If Nigerians reflect on the style of the campaigns over the past couple of months, they would discover that the campaigns were not issues base.
Ugochukwu said; “Tribalism, ethnicity, religiously bigotry, defamation of other candidates, are what have dominated the campaigns, and we are surprised that the security agencies have not done their work by ensuring that they apprehend some of these people”.
Ugochukwu, therefore called on the religious bodies to be preachers of peace and remain neutral when it comes to the 2023 elections.
Speaking in turn, Nwazuluahu noted that while Nigerians are enthusiastic about participating in the 2023 elections as a result of bad governance they have experienced, Nigerian politicians remain who they are by refusing to address issues affecting the people.
He said it was the responsibility of the civil society, including organizations like PRIMORG, to keep Nigerians adequately informed. We’ve seen a series of deliberate propaganda and misinformation in the media in the past few weeks and months.
According to him; “People come up with posts and information that are deliberate to cause you to either not go out to vote on election day. We must be careful,” Nwazuluahu warned.
