By Ikechukwu Okaforadi
The Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has commended Anambrans over the peaceful conduct of the November 6 governorship election in the State, saying people of the State exhibited democracy at its finest, leaving an example for others to emulate.
IPAC, in a statement issued yesterday by its National Chairman, Leonard Nzenwa, said the conduct of Anambra people was a manifestation of patriotism and resilience, saying they shunned violence and refused to sell their collective destiny for a mess of electoral porridge offered by disgruntled politicians.
“The success of the Anambra governorship poll has reinforced Nigerians’ belief in constitutional governance. It is a giant step forward in consolidating our frail democracy and make Nigeria great again.
“IPAC commends INEC for a peaceful Polls but calls on the Commission to improve on its performance. Despite hitches encountered during the exercise, the election was free, fair, credible, transparent, peaceful and acceptable to stakeholders.
“The use of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System which performs the dual function of fingerprint and facial authentication of voters which replaced Smart Card Reader (SCR) used since 2015 to accredit voters and abolition of incident form that enabled a prospective voter not accredited by a smart card reader to cast his ballot, all combined to give credibility to the election. The challenges encountered should be quickly rectified for effective use in future elections”, the statement said.
In addition, the Council equally applauded the security agents for their professionalism during the exercise, expressing happiness that the good people of Anambra State hearkened to its plea to go out and vote, to avoid the alternative of presidential declaration of state of emergency which it said negates democratic ethics, tenets and ethos.
“IPAC urges the governor-elect, Professor Soludo to justify the confidence the people reposed in him and his party that has been in power since March 2007. He should run an inclusive government and demonstrate the spirit of sportsmanship by being magnanimous in victory.
“He should effectively tackle insecurity in the State as security and welfare of the people are the primary purpose of government in accordance with Section 14(2)b of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
“Soludo should also bring his wealth of experience to bear in governance, attract foreign investments that will boost the state’s economy and implement people-oriented projects.
“It is time for progressive governance and delivery of dividends of democracy. The people expect and deserve quality leadership to assuage their sufferings.
“Our democracy is working. All hands must be on deck to deepen it for the benefits of the citizenry. Together, we will build a strong, stable, united, equitable and just democratic nation”, the statement said.
IPAC said the victory of Prof. Soludo in the Anambra governorship election was well deserved and pleasant music in the ears of all lovers of democracy in Nigeria, adding that today, the people have spoken loud and clear.
