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From Okwe Obi, Abuja
Thirty West Africa Coalitions under the aegis of the West Africa Democracy Solidarity Network (WADEMOS), has said the outcome of Nigeria’s poll will make or mar the continent since the Nigeria is the giant of Africa.
WADEMOS Coordinator, Kop’ep Dabugat, at a press briefing yesterday in Abuja, called on politicians to play by the rules and ensure a peaceful poll, stating that the continent would monitor the exercise.
Dabugat said the call became necessary following pockets of violence and unsavory remarks by politicians, stressing that candidates should give their supporters the right education.
He said that WADEMOS had a meeting with major stakeholders in the electoral process to push for the conduct of free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria.
“Well, we see that this is a very unique election in West Africa, given the number of voters turnout, which is even more than the population of several countries.
“So the implication is that, once anything goes wrong in Nigeria, it affects the whole West Africa. It is important that we ensure that these elections move smoothly,” he said.
Coordinator, Ghana Centre for Democratic Development, Kojo Asante, said the security situation in Nigeria has should prompt citizens needed to be involved in tackling it and not to be left to security agencies alone.
Asante said that any attempt to leave security to the security agencies would not solve the matters that Nigerians would deal with for a very long time.
In addition, Regional Coordinator, National Elections Watch in Sierra Leon , Bernadette French, said WADEMOS was established to response to signs of democratic backsliding and a reversion to autocracy in Western Africa.
French said WADEMOS is a network consisting of 30 CSOs located in 15 countries and the objective of WADEMOS remains to promote democracy, good governance and inclusive development.
She added that the objective of the network is to also build solidarity , mobilise and facilitate collective action among African diverse pro democracy civil society, organisation and other civic actors.
This, she said was to produce and disseminate data and analysis to support evidence within pro democracy advocacy and activism in the region.
“We exist to also promote region wide awareness of and track country compliance with ECOWAS protocols for instance, and democracy and good governance among others.
“We are here today, ahead of the Feb. 25th elections in Nigeria to support our brother and sister colleagues in the civil society space and to understand the political economic context around which the elections will be conducted,” she concluded.
