President Muhammadu Buhari has advised political parties, candidates and security agents to behave responsibly in the forthcoming Edo State gubernatorial elections.
The President in a message to voters, political parties, election officials and security personnel, reiterated his stance that he is passionately committed to free and fair elections, but his own commitment is not enough if other actors at ground zero refuse to abide by the rules.
“I want to see democratic standards in the country raised higher at every level, but these these cannot be achieved when politicians resort to do or die methods to gain power by any means or machination,” the President said.
IGP order Restriction
Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has ordered the restriction of vehicular movement from 11:59PM on Friday, 18th September,till 6pm on Saturday, 19th September, 2020.
The IGP notes that the restriction order is informed by the need to prevent the free flow, circulation and use of illicit arms and hard drugs and checkmate the movement of political thugs and touts from hijacking and disrupting the electoral processes.
CSO on Monitoring
The Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reforms says it has been monitoring the electoral process and the political developments in Edo state.
This was contained in a statement signed by the National Coordinator, Temitope Shaba and Spokesperson, Ayodele Adewale.
CODER indicates that pre-election analysis undertaken by YIAGA Africa and other CSO groups paint a bleak picture of the election.
