CODER cautions politicians on election

The Convener, Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reform (CODER), Ayo Opadokun, has urged politicians discrediting the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other security agencies to mind their utterances.

He said some political parties have started denouncing INEC’s ability to deliver on the coming election, noting it was not in the interest of the country to do so.

Opadokun in a statement explained that the allegations against INEC and securities were unverifiable. He added that the unfounded remarks make local, international and developmental partners suspicious of the elections’ credibility.

He said: “CODER wishes to remind the current political operators to put national interest first before their personal interest so that Nigeria can earn her deserved respect, dignity as a democratic state in spite of obvious inadequacies yet to be settled by the Nigerian state.

“CODER would equally ask the genuine international development partners- western powers not to unduly take side in the Nigeria electoral contest by their seeming indication of reading ulterior motive to the suspension of Justice Walter Onnoghen, who admitted that he forgot to fill the mandatory asset declaration form as when due.”

Opadokun urged politicians to play by the rules in making genuine complaints to improve the work of government institutions and not to destroy them for partisan purposes.

He maintained that most of the political operators were friends, surrogates and loyalists of successive military regimes.

“Those of us who lost our sweat, liberty and lives for the restoration of democracy in Nigeria, are disappointed with the current level of partisan politics that tend to be devoted much more to selfish acquisition of public commonwealth and the neglect of genuine services to Nigeria,” he said.