http://www.newsportng.com.ng Ahead of the Saturday’s Gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections in Kaduna state, the Kaduna State Peace and Mediation Working Committee, (KSPMWC) an Initiative of Global Peace Foundation Nigeria, ( GPFN) has appealed to electorates to shun Voters’ apathy, come out en masse and vote for candidates of their choice, come March 18, 2023.
The Committee Chairman, KSPMWC Rev. Bitrus Dangiwa, made the call during a press conference held in Kaduna on Thursday said the outcome of the February 25th presidential and National Assembly election has demoralized a lot of persons, leaving some vowed never to exercise their franchise again.
According to him, the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) has done a good job, meanwhile they must work on their gray areas and make sure they remained independent at the course of discharging their duty.
The Commission, also applauded the security agencies for putting their best in ensuring that there was relative peace in the state before during and after the election, while calling on them to double their efforts to replicate same in the Saturday’s Guber and House of Assembly poll.
Bitrus said, “Permit us to praise and congratulate the good people of Kaduna state for their peaceful conduct in the recently conducted 2023 Presidential and National Assembly elections.
“Kaduna State Peace and Mediation Working Committee, (KSPMWC) is quite aware that barring any last minute changes, in the next two (2) days precisely the 18th day of March, 2023 Gubernatorial and State Assembly elections will simultaneously take place in the 28 states of the federation including our dear Kaduna state.
“It is worth noting that no incidence of Elections violence was recorded in the state during the exercise. We commend the security agencies for putting in their best in the last election and call on them to do even more in the next elections. However, it is sad to note that after the Presidential elections we got reports of attacks on some politicians.
“It is a democratic exercise of one’s choice and, as such; we call on the good people of Kaduna state to conduct themselves peacefully as witnessed in 2023 Presidential and National Assembly elections in the state. There is life after every election, which should not make us make enemies that we will be ashamed to meet after the election in the school, workplace, market, and neighborhood.
“We call on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to address some gray areas pointed out in the presidential and national elections and urge it to remain an unbiased electoral umpire.
“The 2023 General Elections came at a time when there are growing concerns about public safety in the country due to the activities of various armed groups in the swathes of the country.
“Every citizen has just one vote and should cast that vote peacefully, lovingly, and prayerfully hoping for the best person to emerge.Accordingly, as the 2023 Gubernatorial and State Assembly elections come up on Saturday the 18th day of March, 2023 it is important to note that election only comes up once after every four years.
“It is sad to note that our dear Kaduna state has been embroiled in multiple ethno-religious crises for nearly 40 years which pitted one part of the state against the other. In those 40 years, it has been from one attack to another with alarming casualties and destructions of lives and properties worth billions of Naira.
“The state has also recorded series of electoral violence among which was the 2011 Post-Election violence that happened to be the most deadly in the history of the state. The violence resulted to the loss of hundreds of lives and properties worth millions of Naira. Since then, the citizens of the state continue to face every election with a level of apprehension which ought to be so.
The committee also commiserates with victims of the recent attacks in Southern Kaduna, particularly Zango-Kataf LGA and some other affected areas in the state and appealed to citizens to make sacrifices for peace during and after the election.
Present at the event are the Kaduna state Secretaries of the major Religious Bodies, Rev. Caleb Maji of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), and Sheikh Ibrahim Jama’atu Nasril Islam, (JNI) with all appealing to both Christians and Muslim Umar to pray for Kaduna state in other to have peaceful elections, come Saturday.
