Initiative lauds Taraba stakeholders over violence-free guber poll

The Initiative for Community and Human Development (ICHD), a non-governmental organization has commended electoral stakeholders in the just concluded governorship and state house of assembly election in Taraba State over a violence-free poll.

The organization particularly commended the Independent National Electoral Commision (INEC), the media, security and the electorates for their key roles that made the exercise a violence free and successful in the state.

Tribune Online reports that the organization had before the polls, expressed hope that the exercise would be violence-free in the state considering her engagement with key stakeholders in ensuring adequate sensitization of the electorate on the need for a peaceful atmosphere before, during and after the election.

Mr Yahuza Ahmed Magaji, the Executive Director, while briefing journalists in Jalingo on Monday, described the exercise as credible and violence-free.

He noted that the implementation of Election Violence Mitigation and Monitoring (EVMM) project in Taraba State that made the presidential election the most peaceful in the history of the state was a major toll that gave birth to the violence free governorship and state houses of assembly election in the state.

“I wish to state here that we have achieved our desire for violence free governorship and state houses of assembly election in Taraba state. The election was peaceful and successful.

“We commend all stakeholders like the Independent National Electoral Commision (INEC), the security, the media and the electorates for their key roles in the exercise. We also wish to commend the International Republican Institute (IRI) through Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI) with support from National Endowment for Democracy (NED), for the funding that necessitated the implementation of the project titled: Election Violence Mitigation and Monitoring (EVMM) in Taraba State, in response to the report of the long-term monitors on pre-election environment in some selected states of the Federation including Taraba, which indicated that Taraba State is one of the States with high incidences of tension and politically motivated violence in the build-up to the electioneering campaign period” Yahuza commended.

The executive director also disclosed that the project was aimed at increasing the capacity of state- based Nigerian civil society to use data-driven approaches to identify vulnerabilities to electoral violence, monitor and report on incidents of violence and deliver targeted counter-violence messaging to mitigate electoral violence for the 2023 general elections most especially before during and after the general election, and submitted that both the Presidential and National Assembly as well as the governorship and state houses of assembly election were credible, violence free and successful in Taraba state.