IPCR urges peaceful Ondo governorship election

The Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, on Wednesday, called for a violence-free election as Ondo State prepares for its governorship poll, scheduled for Saturday, November 16, 2024.

With preparations for the election in full swing, the IPCR stressed the importance of a peaceful process to ensure the credibility and acceptance of the results both locally and internationally.

In a statement released by the IPCR Director-General, Dr Joseph Ochogwu, the institute stressed the need for a robust sensitisation campaign focused on peace.

The IPCR highlighted that a peaceful election is crucial for maintaining the viability and sustainability of the democratic process.

“As preparations for the conduct of the 2024 election in Ondo State have reached an advanced stage, with the date fixed and logistical arrangements concluded, the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution has called for a violence-free election.

“The Institute stressed the need for a robust sensitisation campaign focused on achieving a peaceful process, adding that the imperative for peace in electoral systems, irrespective of locations and geographies, is critical because it guarantees viability and, ultimately, sustainability.

“The Institute further stated that, aside from being peaceful, the election must also be credible and acceptable to both the local and international communities,” the statement read in part.

The IPCR noted that the relative peace achieved in Nigeria’s democratic space over the past 25 years has contributed to the stability of the electoral system, which has matured significantly since its early, more volatile days.

The institute highlighted the importance of maintaining this peace, which it described as a vital factor in driving socio-economic and political development.

The IPCR offered several recommendations to ensure a smooth election. It urged all stakeholders, including political parties and candidates, to avoid inflammatory remarks and hate speech, which could heighten tensions during the electoral process.

The institute also called on the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons to enhance monitoring efforts to prevent the spread of arms before, during, and after the election.

“All stakeholders in the Ondo State elections should collaboratively ensure that the space is detoxified so that characteristically provocative utterances and accompanying hate speech that arise across political party divides during important electoral cycles, like the forthcoming elections, are checked.

“The Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution equally considers it necessary to request that the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons rise to its responsibility by ensuring effective monitoring of the Ondo electoral spaces to guarantee that arms proliferation before, during, and after the elections are controlled,” the Director-General said.

Dr Ochogwu commended the Independent National Electoral Commission for its preparations and efforts to conduct a credible election.