Conference of Non-Governmental Organization (CONGOS) in collaboration with Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC), Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWS) and Uromi Branch JDPCI, has officially opened its situation room ahead of the 21 September, 2024 governorship election in Edo State.
This was disclosed by the President of CONGOS and Director General, Edo State Civil Society Situation Room, Mrs. Abiola Daisy Igaga at a press conference in Benin City, Edo State.
Mrs. Igala said other civil society organizations were co-opted as members of the situation room for effective representation and to ensure that the world was put abreast of the election and determine their validity to become a conventional indulgence.
She said in Nigeria, the post-election relevance of election observers and monitors derives validity from the disputations, altercations or brouhaha that accompany the conclusion of elections in Nigeria.
Mrs Igala said that Nigerians have the tendency of being bad losers. “No doubt, the court is a primary arbiter to resolve issues of disagreement between and among parties, but the absurdity of the Nigerian situation is that at the end of every election, there is a plethora of election cases that sometimes take over three years to exhaust.
“In whichever way this charade manifests, there is need for a social engineering perspective that would properly situate the process of our democratic delivery or reconfigure the psychological state of our people in the way they respond to losing in an election.
“In dealing with this negation, we must evolve enlightenment processes that deal with mindset orientation for our political leaders from various spheres of social expression” She added.
Mrs. Igala spoke of the need to clearly situate the negativity of ethnicity and religious dogmatism in defining the way Nigerians relate with reality.
“These are factors that the political leadership exploit in altering the perception of the people in their electoral valuation and conduct,” she said.
She said the resort to pre-election violence and post-election are negative omen in the electoral system.
She noted that it is in this context that Edo State Civil Society Situation Room, articulate stakeholders’ collaboration that will enrich data collection, the synthesis of processes, and resolving the overlaps that is conveyed in the diversity of the state and country in religion, ethnicity and culture.
Mrs. Igala explained that Edo Civil Society Situation Room, is focused on a holistic approach that would effectively respond to the diverse points which underpins the present contradictions in evolving a genuine democratic process.
The Director of Uromi JPCI, Rev Fr. Dr. Fidelis Arhedo said, “As civil society organizations in the state we have come out here today to see that the election in Edo State is quite different from every other election conducted and that this year’s election will be free and fair ”.
The chairperson for the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWA) Edo State, Mrs Ann Ojugo thanked Edo Civil Society for setting up the situation room, saying it would boost the confidence of the physically challenged who were before now marginalized at voting centres.
Ojugo expressed confidence that the past challenges being encountered such as the inaccessibility of the voting booths by persons with disabilities would be addressed to avoid their disenfranchisement.
The representative of Echoes of Women in Africa, Louisa Agbonghae stated that “Election that is riddled with violence is not free and fair. So, we are going to be reporting on issues of violence against women in the forthcoming elections,” she said.
The representative of the Department of State Security praised the initiative and requested that it be replicated in the 18 local government areas of the state.
Comrade Dr. Bartholomew Okoudo, president CONGOS in his remarks stated that Edo State Civil Society Situation Room was established to ensure that this year’s election will be credible, violence-free and accommodate persons with disabilities.
“No doubt, the court is a primary arbiter to resolve issues of disagreement between and among parties, but the absurdity of the Nigerian situation is that at the end of every election, there is a plethora of election cases that sometimes take over three years to exhaust.
“In whichever way this charade manifests, there is need for a social engineering perspective that would properly situate the process of our democratic delivery or reconfigure the psychological state of our people in the way they respond to losing in an election,” he said.
