Several civil society groups under the auspices of Katsina Youths Enlightenment Crusade on Peace and Development on Sunday called on Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the winner of the recently conducted presidential election to form an all-inclusive government of national unity when he assumes power come May 29, 2023.
The groups also urged him to listen to the voices of building a new Nigeria including from well-meaning individuals from other political parties.
They as well called on the president-elect to assemble a committee of experts in the economic field to bring an end to the financial predicaments Nigerians are facing today.
Speaking at an International Press Conference held at the Katsina Motel Conference Hall, the Convener and Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Katsina Youths Enlightenment Crusade on Peace and Development, Muhammad Danjuma Katsina, hoped to see a clear blueprint on how to bring to an immediate and definite end of the menace of banditry and terrorism in Katsina, Kaduna, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi and Niger States where citizens are being decimated.
The theme of the conference is Nigeria’s 25th February 2023 Presidential and National Assembly Elections: Our Observations and Recommendations where the groups gathered to critically discuss and present a resolution on the just concluded presidential and national assembly elections.
In particular, the groups requested Tinubu to make a wide consultation in picking who will represent Katsina State in his cabinet so that the best Katsina citizens with a clear interest in building people and the state are selected.
“We also want the incoming administration to ensure the completion of all the Federal projects in Katsina state started by the outgoing administration.
“We also make mention of the rail project from Kano to Maradi of Niger Republic passing through Katsina state, the completion of Kano to Katsina federal highway, the construction of 75MW solar plant at Lambar-Rimi, Katsina state, KEDCO booster station in Katsina, School of nursing and midwifery in Malumfashi, and the proposed Funtua Agricultural University.
“Funtua area is the agricultural basket of Katsina state, hence we call on the incoming administration to give it the necessary attention it deserves through foreign and national aid to invest in its agricultural potential.
“It is an incontestable fact that Funtua had suffered politically since the first republic of NEPU/NPC political rivalry and it is yet to start reaping its political fruits in the name of democratic dividends.
“We fervently hope that security agencies will use all the power at their disposal to ensure a peaceful gubernatorial election slated for 11th March 2023,” he said.
In addition, he noted that: “as you can vividly observe, on the high table of this press conference are the various leaders of the civil society organisations who have all introduced themselves earlier on.
“Indeed, on the 25th of February 2023, millions of Nigerians trooped to the polls and cast their votes for the presidential and national assembly election.
“The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had announced the winner (president-elect) and winners of most of the national assembly seats.
“Also, the presidential aspirants and their respective parties have all declared their stance on the concluded election.
“Going by the history of our nascent democracy, this is the sixth presidential election organised by INEC since the return of democracy in 1999.
“It is also on record that each of the elections had its own peculiarities
and various steps were taken toward improvement.
“Results of our previous election observations pointed out a number of negative practices especially vote snatching, vote buying, the casting of votes in private places in the middle of the night, and announcement of election results even before the polls open. However, with time such election malpractices have become things of the past.
“We can categorically assert that elections in Nigeria started getting better as a result of the determination of the former president of our country, late Umaru Musa Yar’adua (May Allah have mercy on him) to leave a legacy of free, fair, and credible elections, in a speech he made after he was sworn in as president.
“He admitted before the world that the election that brought him to power was flawed, but vowed to rectify the anomalies observed during the elections, and announced the establishment of a committee to chart a new course for credible elections in the future.
“Indeed, after Yar’adua’s death, former president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCON, continued with the electoral reforms his predecessor initiated.
“He cooperated fully with INEC and gave it all the necessary support for the elections of 2015, which saw the introduction of the card reader, as an effort to curb and eliminate vote rigging.
“President Jonathan’s acceptance of defeat in that election was historic and made him become a leading statesman not only in the whole of the African continent but the world in general.
“The presidential election of 2023 saw the introduction of BVAS and the IReV portal, all in an effort to make the elections more credible than the ones before it.
“The unprecedented support granted INEC by President Muhammadu Buhari (GCON) and other measures his administration took have all contributed to reducing election violence and brazen electoral malpractices.
“We, however, noted that during the just concluded presidential election, there was a poor voter turnout when compared to the 2019 general elections.
“INEC in one of their statements said that over 80 million voters registered their votes, but from the results released of the presidential election only a little over 23 million voted.
“Now the question is, where are the remaining sixty million voters? Did they vote? If they didn’t vote, why? What are their views on the various presidential aspirants?
“Though on a good note, this presidential election recorded the least violence when compared to the previous ones conducted before it since 1999.
“Electoral violence was recorded in some parts of the country, but they were not on a large scale to cast aspersion on the votes cast.
“Overall, observers reported low incidents of violence, vandalism, and destruction.
“Although vote buying appears to have reduced as compared with recent off-cycle elections, this election also saw increased use of basic foodstuffs, foreign currencies, household goods, and materials being exchanged for votes by members of all political parties.
“The use of raw cash in Nigerian currency as an inducement for voting has been greatly reduced during the 2023 presidential elections.
“Now to the crux of the matter, is this election the worst ever conducted by INEC? Judging from the data at our disposal on the various elections of the past, this presidential election is certainly not the worst in many aspects.
“There are facts and figures that back up our stand on this which can be used by election result investigation.
“We are confident in asserting that there has been some improvement in the conduct of the elections and democratic journey of Nigeria.
“A cursory look at the election result figures released by INEC will convince any unbiased mind that this election, though not perfect, but is at least credible.
“A good point in mind is the way some presidential candidates lost their states to others from another state, and also the way the current president couldn’t deliver his state, Katsina, to the ruling party.
“Here in Katsina city, there is a neighbourhood where the presidential candidate of the Labour Party got 99% of the total votes cast.
“These and many more incidences buttress the fact that the just concluded presidential election can be counted among the most credible elections ever held in this country.
“It is true that INEC’s election day performance was not seamless, leading to the late start to voting in various polling units across the country, and that some challenges with the use of the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS) were also noted.
“Voter intimidation, in many cases linked to ethnicity or political party affiliation was also recorded across the country.
“INEC officials were changed with others just before the start of the election leading to allegations of electoral malpractices, We believe all these are issues that INEC should and can be able to rectify before the gubernatorial elections coming up on the 11th March 2023.
“We wish to call on our politicians to exercise patience at these trying times and guard their statements to avoid instigating the populace to violence.
“We don’t have any other country apart from Nigeria. We should all strive to make it peaceful before any other thing. We shouldn’t compromise our peaceful
coexistence at the behest of the political ambition of any politician.”
