Idahosa Moses | Benin City
VOTERS in Edo State have been advised to come out enmasse and vote for the state House of Assembly candidates of their choice on Saturday.
The MiND Initiative in collaboration with the Accountability Lab Nigeria and other election stakeholders made the call during it sensitisation rally to the premises of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Edo State Council on Wednesday in Benin.
Addressing the state NUJ leadership and members, the Convener, Peter Aguebor, said that the rally is to educate and sensitise the people on the need for them to come out en masse to vote for their preferred candidates during the election.
According to the Convener, the sensitisation rally is to further improve on the existing knowledge that the citizens of the state have towards the legislative arm of government in Edo, as well as to changing the obvious poor narrative and attention given to legislative government.
He maintained that the legislative arm of government of any nation is the heart of representative democracy, adding that it is the only place through which the minds and aspirations of the citizenry are adequately represented.
He said: “We understand that in pushing and directing voters’ inclination to the forthcoming Edo State House of Assembly Election, cannot achieved the necessary desired outcomes without the support of the media.
“The media is a critical stakeholder in driving positive developmental changes to the ever-evolving political intuitiveness of the Edo Citizens and Nigeria citizens at large.
“To this end, the media needs to collaborate in massively educating the large Edo citizens on the need for participation in the March 18 House of Assembly Election in Edo State through both print and electronic means”, he said.
Responding on behalf of the state Union, Mr. Festus Alenkhe, assured the group of adequate coverage of the election, just as he appealed to voters in the state to shun violence before, during and after the election.
While advising the group to go about their rally in a peaceful manner, Alenkhe, however, called on security agencies in the state to beef up security in order to have a hitch-free exercise.
