By Ochiaka Ugwu
The Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) has called for non-violent election in the incoming Ondo State Governorship election.
In a statement released by the Institute in Abuja Monday, signed by the Director General, Dr. Joseph Ochogwu it stated thus, “As preparations for the conduct of the 2024 election in Ondo state has reached an advanced stage with the date fixed and logistical arrangements concluded, the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) has called for violence-free election.
“The Institute said there’s need for a robust sensitization campaign focused on the achievement of a peaceful process, adding that the imperative for peace in electoral systems, irrespective of locations and geographies, is very critical because it guarantees viability and ultimately, sustainability.
“The Institute said it is very important, aside being peaceful that the election is also credible and acceptable by the local and International community” the statement read in part.
“Recall that the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), the Nigerian government agency responsible for the promotion of peace and conflict management, has since inception in 2000 been playing the pivotal and nation-building role of mobilizing and sensitizing the Nigerian citizenry towards the pursuit of, and conduct of peaceful elections devoid of acrimonies and impliedly, any form of volatility.
“On the imperative of violence-free elections in Ondo state, the IPCR believes that ‘Peace’ remains the stimulating and sustaining energy driving the socio-economic and political development of all organized states.
“It can be argued that it is the relative peace attained in the democratic space over these years – as fostered by IPCR and other Peacebuilding actors – that has guaranteed the stability of the Nigerian electoral system beyond its shaky beginnings. This notable achievement is no doubt connected to the recently celebrated twenty-five years of unbroken democratic culture in the country.
“The Nigerian democratic experience is unique because it pursues the overall interest of the public, in addition to guaranteeing citizens’ rights to demand accountability from elected officials in honour of the tenets of the social contract covenant as universally prescribed by classical socio-political and moral thinkers like Grotius, Kant, Hobbes and Gentili.
“No doubt, this is what justifies and gives credence to the system. Also, this necessitates the urgency for securing the process by ensuring that nothing related to violence occurs during the Ondo elections” the statement noted.
