The Centre for Transparency Advocacy (CTA), a non-profit, non-governmental organisation, has charged stakeholders with maintaining the integrity of Nigeria’s democracy.
Ms Faith Nwadishi, Executive Director of the Civil Society Organisation, made the plea during a one-day stakeholders roundtable on the 2023 General Elections.
While emphasising the importance of putting the challenges encountered during the last election into context, Ms Nwadishi urged stakeholders to remain committed to the sustenance of democracy.
She also said that “even though there were hurdles faced during the electoral process, Nigerians should focus on the positives that emerged from the elections and ensure they were sustained.
She, however, said that “innovative reforms such as the Biometric Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) had helped to a large extent to strengthen the credibility and transparency of elections despite the myriads of challenges faced.”
Ms Nwadishi also called for free, fair and transparent elections during the off-season election in three States: Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa.
Also speaking, Executive Director, Partners for Electoral Reform Mr Ezenwa Nwagwu said that the 2023 election had the greatest logistics challenge because of the cashless policy during that period.
He, however, said that “the BVAS worked 98 per cent and voting went on smoothly.”
“The 2023 General Election was a watershed in the sense that the BVAS was for us a game changer. It took away voter identification theft.
“That is why my organisation is working with National Orientation Agency (NOA). We have already kick-started a regional review of the 2023 election. We have done one in Kano and Enugu,” Nwagwu said.
He said that rather than condemning the managers of that election, they should be praised for ensuring that the election was held unlike in 2011 when the election was postponed midstream.
