The Ekiti state government, on Monday, said it would not allow any person or group to throw any part of the state into violence during the local government election scheduled for Dec. 7.
The state Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Chief Muyiwa Olumilua, said this at a news conference in Ado Ekiti, heralding a sensitisation programme on the election, in partnership with the National Orientation Agency (NOA).
Olumilua said that the present administration would not compromise the current peace in the state, under whatever circumstance.
He assured the voters that the election would be devoid of rigging and other forms of manipulation.
The commissioner said that trouble makers would be dealt with decisively, staging that the election would symbolise democracy at its very best.
He said that a committee, whose members were drawn from strategic sectors of the government, had already been set up to sensitise the people on the need to eschew violence during the poll.
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Olumilua explained the committee was saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that the state had a free, fair and hitch-free poll.
“We must have an election that is free and devoid of violence. We are giving an assurance that the election is going to be a clear departure from the past when the ruling party used to have it all.
“We are saying that we will have a free and fair election that will reflect the wishes of the people.
“This insinuation that because the ruling party is in charge, it will surely carry the day, will not apply,” he said.
The commissioner also said that the committee was set up to sensitise the people of the state on the need to prevent bloodshed during the election.
He, however, clarified that the committee was not intended to teleguide or usurp the responsibilities of the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC).
“EKSIEC has its own responsibilities and we won’t dabble or interfere with it.
“All we are saying is to let the people that there must be no bloodshed and that the election must be transparent”, he said.
“There is no problem about anybody winning at the election, but honestly, I don’t think a local government election is worth the blood of any person,” the commissioner said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the committee, comprising mainly of civil servants, is headed by Olumilua.
(NAN)
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