Ugo Aliogo
An election observer group, Values Reorientation Initiative and Advocacy at the weekend disclosed that it would deploy 250 observers in the next presidential and National Assembly elections across Lagos State.
The group, however, called the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security personnel, political parties, electorate and stakeholders to maintain the standard that character the pre-election activities to ensure violence free exercise.
The Executive Director of the group, Mr. Larry kayode-James disclosed this at a news conference he addressed at the weekend to give a pre-election report in Lagos State.
At the conference, the executive director commended the INEC on the preparation so far for the Smooth conduct of the general elections.
According to him, the pre-election process was conducted professional and in accordance with the stipulated law.
He added that it had been a long tradition that caused some measure of irregularity as most people were either disenfranchised or the credibility of the elections questioned by some stakeholders.
James explained the 250 observers had been deployed “to observe the poll across the 245 wards in 20 local government areas of the state. We have deployed one observer per ward, while the remaining five will serve as coordinators for effective operation.
“As we urge electorate to come out en-masse to exercise their franchise, we also want to call on them to be orderly and go about their civic responsibility peacefully, without any form of violence even in the face of provocation, as adequate security personnel have been deployed to protect lives and property.”
He said the group aimed at promoting and protecting the civil and political rights of participants in elections, deterring manipulation and fraud, and expose such problems if they occur, as well as facilities the correction of errors or weak practices, even while the election process is still underway.
