From Tunde Rahman, Lokoja
Few days to the November 16 governorship and Kogi West Senatorial elections in Kogi State, the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Alhaji Dr. Ado Ibrahim, has again warned politicians against politics of bitterness and hatred in the development of the state.
The paramount ruler made the call on weekend in Okene when Challenged Parenthood Initiative (CPI) paid him a courtesy visit for Kogi East and Central Senatorial Town Hall meeting on ‘Get Out The Vote’ (GOTV) voter education and ‘Stop Violence Against Women in Politics’ (VAWIP) campaign.
The town hall meeting was organized to sensitize voters and party officials on the need to promote peace and shun every form of violence before, during and after the elections.
Dr. Ibrahim said politics should not be seen as a theatre of war aimed at dividing the state, adding that, politicians in the country lack righteousness, which is the hallmark for national development.He insisted that Kogi State will remain one indivisible entity after the polls.
Dr Ibrahim averred further that, “a state or nation can fall when the people no longer believe in themselves or trust one another.
“If politicians have been righteous from the beginning, there won’t be any need to campaign against violence during election.
“No nation needs a leader that will make them slaves. All we want is peace and not war. It is high time all citizens came together and think of how we will move forward.
“Anyone instigating the other to cause violence in Kogi State should have a rethink because we are all brothers and sisters in the sight of God,” he said.
He, however, admonished women to come out and vote, stressing that women have added value to the political process of the country.
Earlier in her remarks, the Executive Director, Challenge Parenthood Initiative, Eunice Abimbola Agbogun, observed that women over the years have been consistently challenged by increased high levels of violence that have characterized the nation’s elections.
Agbogun further observed that there have been prevalence of campaign based violence by political parties, which discourages women going into politics.She added that there is also low level of arrest and prosecution of perpetrators of violence crime during elections.
While tasking all stakeholders to sensitize the community for effective participation and peaceful elections, mobilize the people for a peaceful election, Agbogun pointed out that the true status of an election can be gauged by the number of women who turned out at the polling units.
News Hub Mag! reports that similar programs were organized in Idah and Ogori-Magongo by CPI as the team visited INEC offices and police stations to seek their support for a hitch-free election in Kogi State.
