Lukman Abdulmalik
The Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), and the Kano State Civil Society Elections Situation Room (KSCSESR) held a joint press conference on Sunday to debunk reports of it calling for the cancellation of the Kano State governorship election.
The organization said the movement is politically motivated, suspected to be arranged by some faceless groups in conjunction with some mischief markers in spreading fake stories about civil society organizations.
The Chairman of TMG, Comrade Auwal Ibrahim Musa while briefing newsmen lamented that “as a matter of fact, no genuine civil society group will side with any political parties as the position of the group is expected to be apolitical.”
Musa added that “we regard such an act as a desperation and selfish attempt to discredit organizations into reports that are clearly politically motivated and sponsored, which claimed to be speaking on behalf of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) accredited observer groups in Kano State.”
While narrating their position, Musa expressed that “we call on the public to disregard in totality these wild reports making rounds and using the names of credible organizations calling for the cancellation of the governorship election in Kano State.
“We urge the media to filter credible civil society groups from faceless, politically sponsored groups who hide under the names of credible organizations to concoct fake stories that suit their narratives.
“We implore the media to desist from availing such unscrupulous groups of the platform to propagate their disruptive, misleading, and fake stories.
“We are sternly against the illegal use of our names towards creating chaos in Kano State and Nigeria.”
On his part, Amb. Ibrahim Waiya, the convener of the Kano Civil Society Elections Situation Room recommended that “Justice must be served and seen to be served on those who perpetrated electoral violence in the 2023 elections, not just in Kano but in all the flashpoints across the country.”
TMG, CISLAC, and Kano Civil Society Elections Situation Room recommend that all accredited observers should learn and strictly adhere to INEC guidelines on observers’ operations to appreciate their limitations as observers, which are only to observe and make recommendations.
They also recommend that all potential elections observers should pass through Anti-Corruption Agencies screening henceforth, to ensure that only prudent and credible organizations are accredited as observers in future elections
Since 1998, TMG has championed the democratic path in Nigeria as the foremost election observation group with the widest membership across the length and breadth of Nigeria.
