From Paul Osuyi, Asaba
To encourage active participation of citizens in the political process, Minority Leader of the House of Representatives Ndudi Elumelu has advocated an all-inclusive and multi-sectoral sensitisation of the people.
Elumelu said electoral awareness and mobilisation of citizens’ participation in political and governance processes were sine qua non to quality representational leadership.
The Minority Leader spoke in Umunede while delivering a lecture on “The Role of Enhanced Electoral Awareness in Improving the Quality of Leadership in Nigeria” at a dinner to close the 5th Biennial Convention of ‘Class of 84’ of St Pius Grammar School, Onicha-Ugbo, Aniocha North Local Government Area, Delta State.
Elumelu, who represents Aniocha/Oshimili Constituency, stressed the need for concerted awareness-creation that would ensure active participation of more than 80 per cent of registered voters in Nigeria’s electoral process.
The lawmaker noted that the quality of leadership was determined by informed choices of the electorate made along the lines of electoral worthiness of a candidate and his political party as against primordial tribal, religious, partisan and pecuniary considerations.
He also pointed at the increasing necessity for citizens to utilize governance to their advantage by holding leaders accountable at all times.
According to him, political alienation and voter suppression were prevalent in the country’s electoral process and attributed it to inadequate sensitisation and mobilisation of voters, absence of strong electoral laws, lack of credible, free, fair and transparent elections and incompetence, weak, ill-equipped and unreliable electoral umpire.
Other factors dogging the political system, he stated, were paucity of model leaders, insecurity, disorderly and violent political campaign, unfulfilled electoral promises and disregard to rule of law and partisan mass media.
Elumelu said apart from government agencies, political parties and the mass media, critical stakeholders, including civil society organisations, educational institutions, faith-based organisations, community unions and traditional institutions must join in a targeted broad-spectrum value-driven electoral awareness.
‘Critical stakeholders must scale up value-driven enlightenment of citizens on the benefits of quality leadership as a product of their informed participation in electoral and governance processes on one hand, and the bitterness of negative economic, social and political consequences of poor leadership, arising from lack of their participation in electoral and governance processes.
‘Such value-driven enlightenment must focus on the electoral worthiness of candidates as against tribal, religious, partisan and pecuniary considerations.
‘Efforts must be made for massive mobilisation towards voter registration. The current continuous voter registration must be maximised; a target of above 80 per cent of the eligible voting population should be achieved by 2023.
‘Citizens must be made to be more conversant with the provisions of the Constitution and the Electoral Act, especially relating to their rights on electoral and governance processes, including areas that grant them powers to hold leaders accountable.
‘Such awareness will enable the citizens to participate in efforts geared towards good governance, including setting desired standards for electoral worthiness as well as preferred amendments in the law to guarantee free, fair and credible elections as well as a responsive leadership that is accountable to the citizens,’ he said.
The lawmaker added that citizens should be encouraged to demand that antecedents, qualifications and other indices of electoral worthiness of candidates and political parties should be made public and scrutinised alongside their manifestoes at obligatory pre-election debates.
He also posited that statutory provisions for impeachments and recalls should be made more democratic and enforceable as a way to make elected leaders more answerable to the people.
‘Mid-term survey should be encouraged; a leader who fails a set standard in midterm polling should stand unelectable for a second term in office.
“Appointment as a federal minister and commissioners in the state should be accompanied with specific portfolios to enable the people, through their elected representatives, to assess their worthiness for their proposed positions in government.
‘The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should take steps to further guarantee credible, free and transparent electoral processes. Registration of voters, accreditation at elections and balloting processes should be made more transparent and less cumbersome.
‘INEC should also take steps to accelerate the use of technology to enhance the credibility of voting and electronic transmission of declared results directly from the polling units so as to eliminate collation-related malpractices, including alteration of results,’ Elumelu added.