The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), on Saturday advised political parties in Kogi to strictly adhere to their code of conduct in their preparations for the governorship election in the state on November 21.
Mr Ibrahim Itodo, the state chairman of IPAC gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lokoja.
Itodo said the parties must ensure the conduct of free, fair and transparent party primaries to forestall any form of crisis.
He cautioned against imposition of candidates, saying: “one of the codes emphasises on the conduct of free, fair and transparent party primaries, which is central to good conduct of the main election on Nov. 21.
“This is because imposition of candidates is disastrous and it can lead to defection of party supporters to other political parties.”
Itodo added that lack of internal democracy had been the bane of many political parties in the country.
“Now that we have Permanent Voter Card (PVC) and Card Reader, any party that imposes an unpopular candidate on the people will have itself to blame.
“This is because the electorate will always want to prefer any party that fields the most popular candidate,” he said.
Itodo urged all contestants to always support the candidates that emerged from their party primaries, rather than defecting after losing in the contest.
He also urged political parties to always invite IPAC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to observe the conduct of their primaries in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
“There is a synergy between these two bodies; INEC and IPAC are collaborating to ensure that there are credible party primaries, and free, fair, credible and acceptable gubernatorial election,” he said.
On security, before, during and after the election, the IPAC chairman expressed optimism that the state’s inter-agency security led by the Commissioner of Police, Mr Samuel Ogunjemilusi, would provide necessary security during the poll. (NAN)
