Few weeks to the general election, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Matthias Schmale, has expressed worry about intolerance and hate speeches by political parties and their candidates.
This was as he expressed worry about the lingering fuel scarcity and the crisis trailing the new naira notes policy in the country.
Schmale expressed the worry in a statement on Thursday.
He said though the Independent National Electoral Commission was doing its best to ensure free, fair and credible elections, the commission “is facing some challenges, for instance, around logistics, power supply, employing and deploying the right personnel at the right time.”
To this end, the UN in Nigeria and members of the diplomatic community, at a quarterly briefing on Wednesday at UN House, restated their commitment to support Nigeria towards ensuring peaceful, credible, and inclusive elections.
Expressing concern on hate speeches flying about, the UN Resident Coordinator urged all political parties and their candidates to exercise caution and to adhere to the terms of the peace accord they signed.
Meanwhile, the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Ekiti State, Prof. Ayobami Salami, on Thursday, expressed readiness that INEC was ready for the polls as scheduled for February 25 and March 11.
Salami said non-sensitive materials for the elections had been distributed to the 16 local governments in adequate quantities, just as security agencies had given assurance of adequate protection.
The REC, who spoke in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, during a “Stakeholders’ meeting and signing of peace accord towards 2023 general elections,” urged the political parties and their candidates “to ensure that the 2023 general election is peaceful in this state.”
He said, “Kindly educate your followers on the need to always allow peace to reign and do not make this election a do-or-die affair.”
