Jimi Agbaje, the Lagos state governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has charged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a general election in 2019 that would win worldwide commendation as the freest and fairest in the history of the country.
In a New Year message to Nigerians, signed by the Director, Media and Publicity of his gubernatorial campaign organisation, Felix Oboagwina, Agbaje wished Nigerians would be proud to own the 2019 polls as the truest reflection of their will.
“We pray for peaceful polls in 2019, but peaceful elections can only happen when the majority believes that the conduct and results of the electoral process accurately reflect its collective will as expressed through the ballots,”
According to him, the whole world had its focus on Nigeria’s 2019 elections as they would determine whether 2015’s smooth and seamless transition was a fluke or the confirmation of the country’s truly democratic credentials.
“INEC must deliver credible and commendable elections and this means that the commission must assert its independence and resist all attempts by unscrupulous individuals and interests to falsify results and rig elections,” Agbaje said.
He urged Lagosians to keep hope alive, stressing that their bondage to 19 years of misgovernment would be terminated in 2019.
“My message to Lagosians is that their freedom lies in their own hands,” he said. “We must celebrate 2019 as the year that Lagos broke loose from impunity, misgovernment and underdevelopment.
“And Lagosians must themselves make this happen, not only by voting, through protecting their votes from the cabal that believes that it has the electoral formula,” Agbaje added.
Iniobong Iwok
