By Technocrat Media
AKURE – Vote Not Fight (VNF), a campaign that seeks to promote peaceful participation of Ondo youths in the forthcoming gubernatorial election in Ondo State has condemned yesterday’s election-related crisis in Oba- Akoko, Ondo State.
The Executive Director, The Pacesetters who doubles as the Coordinator of the VNF campaign in Ondo State, Jonathan Obatola, made this known during a courtesy visit to the Commissioner of Police, Bolaji Salami briefly after reports of the ugly occurrence filtered in on the social media.
According to Obatola, “the election-related crisis happening in Akoko is quite sad. It is sadder because perpetrators are young people. This is not good for our society. Electoral violence affects the entire credibility of the democratic system and impacts negatively on democratic activities. Such act influences low turnout of voters in an electoral process,”
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While calling on the Police to rise up to the occasion, Obatola disclosed that reports from the Local Government Coordinators of the VNF Campaign suggest the inability of the Nigerian Police prosecute electoral offenders in the past further encouraged youth participation in electoral violence.
While endorsing the Vote Not Fight Campaign, the Commissioner of Police, CP Bolaji Salami assured the group of unprecedented policing that will be fair to all political parties without any form of bias in the discharge of their responsibilities before, during, and after the election day.
Earlier, the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations, Monday Bala Kuryas, who represented the CP in a meeting with the group also frowned at the fracas in Akoko.
He called on Ondo youths to emulate the Vote Not Fight Campaigners in getting involved in peacebuilding and must not allow politicians to use them as perpetrators of electoral violence.
The DCP also disclosed that Ondo State Command has over 5000 trained men on the ground and over 10000 men will be mobilized from Abuja to ensure a peaceful atmosphere during the election.
