An observer group, Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), has vowed to expose and report electoral offenders by commenting and documenting outcomes of parties’ conventions ahead of next year’s general elections.
This is even as the group charged Nigerians to take advantage of the new Electoral Act, to elect credible leaders devoid of ethic or geopolitical sentiments.
Its Chairman, Auwal Ibrahim Musa, told journalists yesterday in Abuja at a strategic planning meeting, that the group would further popularise the new Electoral Act to enable Nigerians know their rights.
He said TMG’s decision to restrategise and deepen democratic participation was as a result of electoral fraud that characterised previous plebiscites.
Musa said, “The purpose of today’s meeting is to enable the Transition Monitoring Group restrategise ahead of the 2023 general elections.
“We have decided to review our strategy to ensure that TMG and its affiliates fully participate in the electoral circle in Nigeria by observing, commenting and ensuring that instances of conventions, elections and post elections issues are fully documented so that bridges and gaps can be identified and improved upon so that our elections would continue to be seen as free, fair credible and acceptable to Nigerians.
“We have suffered a lot of electoral fraud in Nigeria. We have suffered a lot of electoral violence in Nigeria. We have suffered a lot of electoral deficit in our system and values.
“And, therefore, the Transition Monitoring Group is restrategising to ensure that Nigerians are fully aware of their fundamental rights as citizens so that they do not fall into the hands of people whose ambition is to continue to use elections as opportunity to loot and steal or diversion of public tax payers’ money.
“We also want to ensure that Nigerians are able to hold their officials accountable because the absence of electoral accountability is what is giving the impunity and widening corruption and mismanagement of governance in Nigeria.
“But if the citizens, after the election are able to hold their officials accountable, we will now begin to see that democracy really works in Nigeria and for Nigerians.
“Even before the election, if the parties primaries and conventions are not done transparently, TMG will observe, document it and engage relevant institutions.
“So, we want to make sure that there is clarify of purpose. We will continue to monitor electoral practices, abuse of electoral laws.
“We want to ensure that in 2023, Nigerians are not manipulated by groups bringing in ethnic or geographical sentiments and undermine democratic accountability.
“We will continue to popularise the new amendment Act so that Nigerians can take advantage of it to participate in elections.
“So the new electoral law is going to improve electoral process and ensure that politicians and political parties comply with the law.”