The Director of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Dr Daudu Garuba, has urged political actors to prioritise the safety of citizens ahead of the August 15 governorship election in Osun State.
Garuba said political ambitions should never be pursued at the expense of human lives, warning against the violence and intimidation that could discourage voters from participating in the election.
He made the remarks while speaking on the forthcoming election, as the CDD prepared to release its assessment of the poll.
According to him, the Osun election is expected to be significantly different from the previous one, particularly against the backdrop of political developments and reported incidents of violence in recent months.
“This is one election that is obviously going to be different from the last one, and the reasons are very clear,” Garuba said.
He noted that the CDD would formally release a background paper outlining its assessment of the election and key issues surrounding the poll.
Garuba expressed concern over what he described as clear incidents of violence since May, stressing that the stakes surrounding the election were high.
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He noted that Osun is one of the states not controlled by the ruling party, adding that the political significance of the poll had further heightened tensions.
However, the CDD director maintained that no political contest should result in the loss of lives.
“We know so much is at stake about these elections, Osun being one of these two states that are completely out of the ruling party, where the President comes from.
“But I also do not think that an election should be such that will be taking away lives from people.
“As an ex-President of this country once said, political ambition should not be worth more than the blood of citizens,” he said.
Garuba also questioned the need the deploy thousands of security personnel for an election, saying a properly conducted electoral process should not require such a heavy security presence.
He said the people of Osun deserved an election that was free, fair and credible, without threats or intimidation capable of discouraging them from exercising their constitutional right to vote.
The CDD director called on political actors, security agencies and other stakeholders to work towards ensuring a peaceful electoral process.
“I think that there is much we can do to deliver free, credible and fair elections to the citizens of Osun,” he said.
