Kogiflame.
A Civil Society Organisation, Connected Development on Saturday in Okene, Kogi State, North Central Nigeria, urged Nigerians not to allow politicians to use money to decide the fate of the nation as 2023 elections as the outcome of the election based on choice of candidate will determine the future of Nigerians
Convener of Follow the Money, Hamzat lawal who was on election monitoring tour in Okene where the APC held her senatorial primary election, described the process as peaceful, organized and well coordinated.
Known for its role in ensuring effectiveness in political processes across Africa, the Chief Executive of Connected Development cautioned young politicians aspiring for elective positions not to depend on “money bags’’ for funding.
“This is the time for well-meaning Nigerians to support aspirants with good intention, courage, capacity and good plan rather them reaching out to some political actors whose intention is just to win election
He noted that by not supporting honest people to get into office, Nigerians keep shooting themselves in the foot because of the type of leaders they allow into office, yet they keep complaining about the country.
The young socio-political activist and corruption crusader asked Nigerian youths particularly, to learn to question political aspirants on their antecedents and how they hoped to meet the challenges of Nigeria to determine their values.
Lawal said the decision of President Muhammadu Buhari to give life to the 2022 Electoral law as Amended, was a catalyst to effectively conducting a more credible election in 2023.
He made a case for the need for INEC to be properly funded to enable her to build human capacity to ensure seamless services to the Nation, especially with the involvement of technology.
“Our Democracy is very young, and as much as we want it to grow very fast, we need to put all hands on deck.
Speaking further on the electoral law, Lawal frowned at the scenario in which the lawmakers allegedly wanted to get at some categories of Nigerians through section 84 of the amended Acts, however, wanted themselves to be compulsive delegates.
According to Lawal, electoral malpractices will be greatly curtailed with the deployment of technology by INEC, stressing the need for Nigerians to give INEC the needed support to conduct a credible election.
Hamzat highlighted issues of development, security, economic prosperity, social welfare and availability of basic infrastructures for Nigerians as a product of the choices Nigerians will make in 2023 with a call on Nigerians to shun all forms of crimes.
