2023: Group advises Nigerians to verify past achievements of candidates
A civil society group under the aegis of Collective Action Movement for Democratic Values and Environmental (CAMDVES) has advised Nigerians to verify claims of past achievements made by presidential candidates in office before voting for them during the 2023 general elections.
The chairman of CAMDVES, Emmanuel Akuba, stated this in an interview with journalists in Abuja shortly after being presented with an excellence award by the National Association of Northern Nigerian Students.
According to him, the 2023 elections would not be business as usual, as no politician could rig the forthcoming election with the new Electoral Act.
Akuba said Nigerians would no longer accept false claims made by candidates regarding their past achievements, adding that the citizens would ensure they vote for candidates with a proven track record in 2023.
He said, “This is not time to be docile. There can be no development in the country if we don’t get our political decisions right.
“I want to thank President Muhammadu Buhari, who is leading a government that has made us believe in the electoral process by signing the Electoral act 2022, which means our votes will count.
“The Electoral Act is not being celebrated the way it should. The most outstanding achievement the Buhari administration gave us was the electoral act. We are talking about how leaders emerge, and we have now been given that weapon where the Permanent Voter Cards is the most extraordinary power, not even the bullet.
“So, through a democratic process, we are taking back our country. We are going to the grassroots to let them know that the power is in their hands, and we such consciousness gets to that height, the right leaders will emerge.
“The candidates are coming up with their programmes but I want to appeal to Nigerians that we must verify claims made by these candidates. You can’t can’t just come and start giving us achievements. We will verify them; thank God one of them has asked us to verify their claims. We do that.”
Punch/S.O
