VoteNotFight campaigns against electoral violence

A coalition of youth organisations in Kwara state, under the aegis of Vote Not Fight Campaign, has charged youth in the state not to allow themselves to be used by political actors to foment electoral violence in the coming general elections.

Speaking with journalists after a peace walk around major streets in the Ilorin metropolis which terminated at the police headquarters, Ilorin at the weekend, members of the group, led by the state coordinator, Mrs Tosin Ajayi, called on security agencies to be civil without any form of intimidation during and after the elections.

The coordinator, who said that non-violent and peaceful general elections in 2019 is non-negotiable, added that youth, their mothers and person living with disabilities are the first victims when election violence occurred.

Mrs Ajayi also said that legitimacy of any government lies on its emergence from a peaceful, free, fair and credible election, adding that vote should count in the coming general elections to ensure credible polls.

The group called on the security agencies to immediately arrest and prosecute electoral offenders, including political actors and elected officials without immunity, saying that adequate security should be provided for INEC ad-hoc staff, voters, candidates, observers and other stakeholders during and after the polls.

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Also speaking, the Kwara state police commissioner, Bashir Makama, represented by the deputy commissioner of police (CID), Adekunle Ashafa, promised to ensure due enforcement of laws and regulations, as well as serve as agents of peace in the general elections.

The police boss, who urged the youth to abstain from violence and drug, said that youth are future leaders who also constitute more than half of the electorate in the coming elections.