•Advocate constitutional role for monarchs
Olusegun Osahon in Yenagoa
Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, and his Delta State counterpart, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, who is also the presidential running mate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have restated their support for the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) into the Nigerian electoral system by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
They also canvassed constitutionally defined roles for traditional rulers to ensure peace in the country.
The governors spoke in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, yesterday during the South-south Monarchs Forum’s Extraordinary General Assembly with the theme: “Entrenching Grassroots Security and Peace in the South-south Region’ during and after 2023 general election.”
Diri said the importance of BVAS could not be over-emphasised as it would go a long way in reducing electoral fraud.
He lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for his insistence on free and fair elections, saying the country was relying on him to match words with action and deliver a credible 2023 general election.
Describing democracy as a government of the people, Diri called on politicians and Nigerians in general to allow the electorate make their choices without molestation.
While advocating constitutional role for monarchs as custodians of culture, the Bayelsa helmsman cautioned politicians against the use of youths for violence and called on all hands to be on deck to ensure a violence-free election.
“You are the custodians of our culture and traditions and generations of our people have depended on you for their existence. We cannot pretend to be oblivious of the fact that our security architecture needs attention.
“With the discovery of oil and gas, we were all hopeful that the discovery will make us happy but the reverse has proved to be the case with several economic and health losses for our people.
“Let me take the liberty of this event to remind us of what we have to advocate for. In the forthcoming elections, we must do our best to prevent our youths from being used as tools of violence by selfish politicians.
“I also endorse the introduction of BVAS as I believe it will reduce electoral fraud. We rely on Mr. President to match words with action and make the 2023 elections transparent.”
Okowa, on his part, said it was crucial for all stakeholders to find ways to ensure peaceful elections, stating also that traditional rulers play important role as custodians of culture and that they needed to be empowered to play more active roles in ensuring peace in the country.
He also expressed gratitude to Buhari, INEC and all stakeholders playing various roles to ensure that Nigeria had a credible election, adding that with more efforts in that direction, there was hope for the country.
Okowa hailed the introduction of BVAS and wondered why some persons and political parties were against a technology that would promote credible elections and improve the image of Nigeria even before the international community.
“I thank our royal fathers for inviting governors of the South-south and their counterparts from the South-east. The topic is wonderful because it is best to find ways to stop electoral violence to help us prepare the ground for a peaceful election.
“There is no doubt we have had a lot of sentiments in this country and we have allowed it to define us. But the question is, why all these sentiments? We must try to improve on our governance system and make it all inclusive.
“As custodians of culture, traditional rulers have a great role to play but they need to be empowered and given constitutional roles to play their part effectively to promote peace in their domains and the country at large,” he said.
Earlier, Chairman, South-south Monarchs Forum and Amanyanabo of Nembe, Dr. Edmund Daukoru, said the aim of the organisers of the meeting was to achieve peaceful elections in the country.
