ABUJA – The West African Civil Society Forum (WACSOF), on Friday in Abuja blamed the current political tension in the country on “impunity among some government officials“.
The group also attributed the tension to “lack of internal party democracy“.
Its acting General-Secretary, Mr Auwal Rafsanjani, who said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), urged politicians to be cautious with their utterances in view of the forthcoming 2015 general elections.
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“The impunity with which we see some of the government officials doing things is what is causing some of the tension and problems that we see in the country.
“We hope to see the political impunity, political violence, and political hooliganism and rascality minimised in 2015.“
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The acting general-secretary said that guarded utterances and orderly conducts were crucial in guaranteeing peaceful elections in 2015.
He said that WACSOF had begun civic education campaigns to sensitise the electorate, political parties, and the youth to the far-reaching effects of electoral violence.
Rafsanjani said unguarded utterances and rash comments during campaigns by politicians “could instigate people to become violent“.
He urged security operatives to be fair to all the stakeholders in the political process.
He urged youths not to allow politicians to use them as thugs during campaigns and in the course of the 2015 elections.
Rafsanjani also enjoined political parties and security operatives to do what they could to prevent any form of political violence anywhere in the country.
He advised the Independent National Electoral Commission to ensure that the 2015 elections were conducted in a credible manner.
“This is because if somebody does not win an election and you declare him or her to be the winner, it will cause problems.“ (NAN)
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