Senate Minority Leader and leader of the PDP in the South West, Senator Biodun Olujimi has asserted herself by writing to the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) ahead of the commencement of electioneering campaigns slated for Sunday, 18th November, 2018.
Senator Olujimi in a statement issued Friday by her Special Assistant on Public Communication, Chief Sanya Atofarati, and made available to newsmen in Ado- Ekiti. the Ekiti State, frowned at the recent reports of underage registration and the illegal issuance of PVCs to non-Nigerians as reported in some parts of the Northern states of Nigeria.
“INEC is urged to be alive to its statutory responsibility as an unbiased umpire as the 2019 electioneering campaign for various elective positions commence on 18th November 2018. Any form of misconduct by way of hate speech, unethical comments or statements in any form of media especially the social media by any of the contestants or their apparatus should be promptly condemned and sanctioned
According to her, “The events that led to the June 12 1993 saga are still very fresh in the minds of the Nigerian citizenry. Therefore, INEC is hereby urged to be more responsive to its responsibility and purge itself from political partisanship by taking the necessary proactive measures.
“The process of PVC collection and other areas of Voters education and enlightenment should be vigorously pursued to obtain optimal results of increased voters awareness and to ensure no one is disenfranchised. More importantly, the issues of ‘underage’ registration, irregular and illegal registration of Non- Nigerians as witnessed in previous elections must be properly addressed to exonerate this noble establishment (INEC) of several allegations of conspiracy and connivance to rig elections.
“The various political parties should be made aware and constantly reminded of their responsibilities and obligations to the voting public in their campaign processes.
“Furthermore, INEC should not tolerate any form of distortion or misconduct by way of errors of commission or omission in the electioneering process. It is hoped that the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) under the leadership of Professor Mahmood Yakubu would ensure that it does the needful towards a hitch free elections come 2019.
“As leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti state and the Southwest geopolitical region of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I congratulate His Excellency, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the PDP on his nomination as the party’s flag bearer as he coasts to victory in the forthcoming presidential elections.
The distinguish senator and Minority Leader of the Senate wishes to assure him of overwhelming victory not only in Ekiti State but in the entire Southwest as a whole,” Atofarati said.
