By Dr Raphael Ogar Oko
‘Representatives’ of various political parties and Ambassadors for Peace who attended the South East Ambassadors for Peace Conference on Peaceful Election in Anambra State held in Onitsha, Anambra state have pledged their commitment to peaceful elections and called on all
stakeholders to support the call for peace in Anambra state.
UPF Nigeria convened the South East Ambassadors for Peace Conference on Peaceful Election 2017 as part of activities designed to mobilize support for the peaceful conduct of the forthcoming Governorship
election in Anabra state, Nigeria, which will be held on November 18,2017. Over 150 participants including representatives of over 30 political parties contesting the governorship election and Ambassadors for Peace in the state attended the conference, which ended with a call on all to support the peaceful conduct of the election and acceptance of the outcome.
The conference began with welcome remarks by the Anambra state chapter Coordinator of UPF Nigeria, Rev. Amb. Zeal Festus. She thanked all the participants for the prompt response to the call for participation and emphasized the need to bring the representatives of the political parties with Ambassadors for Peace to discuss the importance of ensuring peaceful conduct of the election as there were previous to the holding of the election by some organizations.
The conference chairman, Amb Damian Chukwurah Vincent Amazu, who is one of the UPF Nigeria Ambassadors for Peace in Diaspora called on the government and the people to respect the wishes of the people and conduct themselves in ways that will make the election credible and accepted by all. In particular, he called on the Ambassadors for Peace to play active role in creating awareness about the need for peaceful elections in the state and throughout Nigeria.
UPF Nigeria Secretary General, Dr Raphael Oko spoke on the UPF peace principles as a guiding code of conduct for peaceful living and peaceful elections and urged all to reflect deeply on the need for a
culture of peaceful election as the way forward for the nation. At the end of the presentation, representatives of several political parties pledged their commitment to peaceful elections in the state and endorsed the proposal by UPF Nigeria to have all parties work together despite their different candidates to elect a leader for the state during the election.
The “bridge of peaceful relations by political parties” ceremony featured the public display of party logos by the representatives of the political parties and a public declaration of support for peaceful
conduct before, during and after the elections. At the closing session of the conference, some distinguished participants were presented with certificate of recognition as Ambassadors for Peace. They include: Bishop Herbert Eze Mrs. Edugie Joy Emeleogu, Emmanuel Emeleogu
Mr. Peter E. Chikweilo, Mr. Ngonadi Humphrey A Pastor John Ifeanyi Emos
Pastor Capt. Ekene Divine Ikemba
The newly inducted Ambassadors for Peace offered to become true representatives of the UPF and will work to support the peaceful conduct of the election as well as other activities of the organization in Nigeria and around the world. In particular, the Ambassadors for Peace resolved to be mobilize participants to the upcoming African Leaders Summit in Dakar, Senegal and the 100,000
youth rally in Abuja in January 2018.
All the participating Ambassadors for Peace were mandated and deployed to different parts of Anambra State as Special Advocates for Peaceful Elections to educate the people on the need for peaceful election andto promote dialogue among political aspirants for peaceful election.
Dr Raphael Ogar Oko, Secretary General, UPF Nigeria
