As politicians prepare to campaign across the country, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCDO) has said that security during the election season is the UK government’s biggest concern.
FCDO Director of Development, Chris Pycroft said this at the Expert Meeting on Conducting the 2023 Nigerian General Election in a Fragile Security Environment organized in collaboration with the Center for Democracy and Development (CDD) in Abuja.
According to him, stakeholders must strive not only to guarantee the safety of voters and the electoral process, but also to promote peace fully.
He said, “Security is a top priority for the UK in its partnership here in Nigeria, and it will be even more important in the next six months. Strengthening the provision of peace and security is one of several initiatives that we are part of.
“Nigeria is facing more challenges than ever to conduct peaceful and secure elections. But at the same time, the demand for democracy and change, especially among Nigeria’s youth population and the rapidly increasing number of women across the country continues to grow.
These elections are important not only in Nigeria, not only for the continent of Africa, but for the world.
He explained that democracy around the world is under threat, stressing that Nigeria can show the power of democracy to represent the world and national aspirations.
Pycroft added: “Security companies, INEC and others are facing huge challenges in meeting these needs, because of the severity and variety of security threats people face across the country.
“As electoral security is important, as stakeholders involved in this election, we must strive not only to ensure the security of voters and the electoral process, but also to promote peace fully. We must focus on the deployment of police and access to polling stations. they are important issues, but they are not enough.
“Unity and peaceful coexistence among the various religious, ethnic and cultural communities in Nigeria are under severe stress. The sharp increase in inter-communal conflict is a growing danger in all six geographical regions of Nigeria.
“We have to ask ourselves, what is the role that the stakeholders here today can take in efforts to prevent and reduce conflicts? What emergency plans can we put in place? How can we work with others to reduce tensions before they erupt into conflict? These are the questions we need to answer today.”
In his statement, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said the nation is entering a bad stage towards the 2023 general election and that all hands must be on deck to ensure that the election is successful.
He called on all political parties and candidates to focus on issue-based campaigns, adding that this is the best way to ensure that elections are held transparently where only the votes cast by the people determine the winner.
According to him, “This meeting has come at the right time because the elections are approaching, but there is still time to deal with security issues before the elections.
“More effectively, I believe that from the collective experience of the participants in this meeting, specific recommendations will be made to further strengthen our understanding of security issues in the upcoming elections, the various dimensions of the challenges and, most importantly, the possible measures to respond to them to ensure that elections are held peacefully throughout the country as required by law.”
For his part, the Executive Director of CDD, Idayat Hassan, said the insecurity prevalent throughout the country is a matter of concern, something that should be addressed especially because it is not normal election violence, but can increase the speed of the election. violence, before, during and after the elections in the country.