By Chimezie Godfrey
The former INEC Chairman, Attahiru Jega has said that enhancement of electoral integrity is key to safeguarding the peoples will for democratic development and sustainability in Nigeria.
He made this assertion on Wednesday in Abuja while delivering a key note address at the TELL 20 Years of Democracy Conference 2019, tagged, ” Democracy And the Rule of Law.”
He said,”Crass lack of electoral integrity has been the name of civil rule, transitions to democratic rule, governance and development in Nigeria.
“Electoral malfeasance and malpractices have historically undermined the conduct of free, fair and credible elections, have rendered the electorate powerless and have thereby significantly eroded public trust and confidence in the electoral process.
“It is only by restoring electoral integrity into the electoral process that we can appropriately safeguard the will of the Nigerian people for democracy to thrive.”
Jega said that the Nigerian electoral process has historically been flawed and replete with profound challenges in various ways which includes inadequate legal framework for conduct of elections, insufficient funding for elections, and insufficient public sensitization and enlightenment, among others.
He stressed that enhancement of electoral integrity is key to safeguarding peoples will for democratic development and sustainability, saying that it is only regularly conducted elections with integrity that nurture and consolidate true representative democracy.
On the issue of insecurity, he said that country like Nigeria that is faced with systemic security challenges will require the deployment of all security agencies in the electoral process, but added that the roles of each security agencies have to be carefully defined.
The Chairman Board of Directors of TELL Communications, Adeniyi Lasaki revealed that a lot has happened on the sustenance of democracy in the last twenty years.
He said that Nigeria has taken false steps, stumbled and fallen when it is supposed to move with speed.
He however, expressed optimism that while Nigeria may not be cruising at the expected high speed, that the hope of a better future is more alive today
Also, speaking, the Chief Executive Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema said that Nigerians may not have the democracy they desire they continue to apply ethnic sentiment in the political process.
He urged Nigerians to embrace broad nationalism rather than ethnic nationalism, adding that if Nigerians do not put a stop on ethnic sentiment in its political process, the kind of democracy that Nigerians are looking for will become a ruse.
Dignitaries who were represented at the event includes Former President Goodluck Jonathan, Governor of Sokoto state, Aminu Tambuwa, among others.
