Group urges FG, INEC to ensure 2023 general election holds

Civil Society Action Coalition On Education For All, (CSACEFA), a coalition of civil society groups in South-East zone of Nigeria, has warned that nothing should derail the 2023 general election.

The coalition also called on all relevant authorities, especially the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure that eligible voters are not disenfranchised.

Eunice Egbuna, leader of the coalition, while addressing the press at the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Correspondents Chapel Secretariat, Aba, Abia State, said its position was premised on the several potent events in the country in the last few weeks, sending strong signals that some forces may be working towards truncating the 2023 poll.

According to them, the series of unprovoked and unwarranted attacks on INEC and security agencies’ facilities across the nation in recent times are clear pointers that cast a dark cloud on the prospect of free and fair polls.

“We are daily inundated with cases of violence from both state and non-state actors, known and unknown gunmen, which now raise doubts over the possibilities of the elections even though there are assurances that elections will go on as planned.

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“The frequency and intensity of these attacks have increased considerably as the elections draw nearer, causing palpable apprehensions among the citizenry.

“And we cannot but conclude that these attacks point to one direction: a premeditated plan to intimidate the populace, derail the 2023 electoral process and consequently sustain the status quo.

“While it is true that the government of the day may have shown some visible signs of genuine commitment to the conduct of free and credible polls like signing of the revised Electoral Act, its role in all this spates of attacks and violence, being unleashed on vital electoral facilities, across the nation is suspect,” CSACEFA stated.

The group therefore, appealed that with the harsh economic condition facing the people, which cannot be totally insulated from the faulty governance architecture currently in place in the country, the long-suffering masses should be allowed to freely chart a safety route for themselves come 2023 general election.