Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
The Network of Civil Society Organizations of Nigeria (NOCSON) has lauded the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for conducting a very successful Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) exercise in Edo State ahead of the governorship election.
It also urged the Commission to conduct an election that is free, fair and credible such that no party will be willing to contest its result in court as the process will be visibly transparent in line with global best practices and the Nigeria Electoral Act as amended.
The President of the group, Comrade Emmanuel Ogbidi gave the commendation in Benin City.
He went further to say that the election must be a deviation and of great improvement on the 2023 general elections where Bi-Modal Voters Accreditation Machine System (BIVAS) was alleged to be highly manipulated and electronic transmission of result was jettisoned at the eleventh hour owing to a purported technical glitch after spending billions of tax payers money on the process.
He added that the Commission should ensure that all Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and documents necessary for Edo voters to vote are available and worked upon so that no body will be disenfranchised owing to their inadequacies.
He vowed that NOCSON will remain resolute and will continue to follow up processes in the Edo 2024 governorship election in order to ensure that it truly reflects the will, choice and direction of Edo people so that they can revive the already dwindling confidence in some agencies of government in the country.
While speaking on the incident that happened at the Benin Airport where an officer lost his life in the process, he lamented the inability of the security agencies in the state to have arrested the culprits and bring them to book to serve as a deterrent to others who are contemplating a repeat of such dastardly act.