LG polls: Nasarawa Govt Counsels Youths Against Violence
The Nasarawa State Government has urged the youths to shun violence during and after the October 6 local government elections in the state.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr Yusuf Musa, said it was imperative to educate youths on the outcome and negative implications of violence towards creating and sustaining a peaceful atmosphere during and after the exercise.
Musa, who gave the advice during a violence-free sensitisation on Wednesday in Wanna, Wamba Local Government Area of the state, said the moment citizens allow themselves to be used by politicians to disrupt the process of electing their leaders, by implication they mortgage their future.
According to him, the youths must be patriotic and law-abiding while using their youthfulness in contributing to the development of the state, even as he urged them to rise to the occasion and propagate violence-free messages.
“As future leaders of the society, you should champion the cause of a free and fair election, don’t allow yourselves to be used to perpetuate violence by disrupting election process, don’t mortgage your future and the posterity. Don’t allow politicians to use you as hooligans,” he warned.
The Permanent Secretary said the campaign also aimed at educating people to leverage continuous e-voters registration by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register massively so as to enable them to participate in the 2023 general election.
He, therefore, appealed to traditional rulers, local government officials, youths leaders, and women leaders to champion the cause by stepping down the campaign in their various domains.
In their separate speeches, Oriye Rindre, Alhaji Lawal Nagogo and Aren Eggon, Dr Bala Angbazo, represented by Aren Akun, Alhaji Usman Umbugadu both commended Governor Abdullahi Sule and the Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism for coming up with the campaign and enlightenment programme.
The traditional rulers assured of their support in ensuring that their subjects avail themselves of the ongoing INEC e-voter registration, and also desist from engaging in violence during and after the local councils’ polls.
On his part, the traditional ruler of Akwanga, Chun Mada Samson Gumu – Yare, while thanking Gov Sule for his visionary leadership, called on politicians to support the campaign, using their resources to mobilise people to participate in e – voters registration.
He, however, decried the attitudes of some politicians whose stock in trade was to distance themselves from such laudable project geared towards laying the foundation for the future, only to surface during the election to impose their will on the electorates. – NAN
