By Angela Atabo
Chen Education and Development Empowerment (CEDE),a Non- Governmental Organisation has tasked INEC to ensure that Saturday’s Governorship and Houses of Assembly Election is hitch-free.
Ms Cynthia Anaele, the Executive Director, CEDE, said this in Abuja at a news conference when she presented findings on the Feb. 25 Presidential and National Assembly election.
Anaele said that INEC must address all loopholes and challenges experienced at the Feb. 25 Presidential and National Assembly election.
“At CEDE, we are confident that democracy still remains the best option for governance, therefore the democratic process should not only be transparent, but should be seen to be transparent.
“We call on INEC to investigate the various infractions in the cause of the presidential election and where anybody is found to be culpable, he should be prosecuted.
“Knowing that the integrity of any electoral system is critical to the legitimacy of any government that emerges from it, going forward, INEC must do more to ensure that the governorship and States Houses of Assembly election is free, fair, credible, and transparent.
“INEC must quickly fix the challenges that led to its inability to upload all results to its iRev portal as it promised Nigerians.”
Anaele appealed to politicians to desist from utterances and actions that would further fuel the palpable tension across the country.
She said that CEDE was an organisation focused on empowering young people and underserved communities with quality education, entrepreneurial skills, various sector focused issues enlightenment and general well-being .
She added that the organisation supported and helped them actualise their potential and champion sustainable development in the society.
”Hence our interest and commitment to see that credible electoral processes and good governance is institutionalised in Nigeria.
“We understand that there is a huge gap in the educational sector in Nigeria, thus we are dedicated to transforming young people who are the future leaders. “
Anaele said that CEDE also advocated for quality education ,scholarship support, creation of safe learning spaces, and educating citizens by creating awareness on various sector issues in Nigeria through an easy to understand approach.
She said that to achieve this, CEDE was open to collaborations with the government, private sector, individuals, civil society organisations and other developmental agencies who were devoted to social reformation.
“Our mission is to empower young people with knowledge and skills to actualize their potentials and lead development in Nigeria while we envision young people as key sustainable development drivers.”
Anaele said that CEDE was ready to partner with the media and other organisations to achieve its objectives and make Nigeria a country that would be a pride to citizens.(NAN)
