Abba Dukawa
The Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS), has charged Nigerians to ensure the success of the 2023 general election as the country could not afford to make a mistake.
ECOWAS said it was concerned about the success of the 2023 general election in the country due to its effects on the region and the African continent as a whole.
The sub-regional raised the concern when a delegation of ECOWAS pre-election fact-finding mission to Nigeria led by Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, former Chairman of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, have an interactive session with civil societies and journalists at the Centre for Information Technology and Development in Kano.
According to the leader of the delegation, who is also the Director, Political Affairs, ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Remi Ajibewa, said they were in Nigeria for fact-finding ahead of the country 2023 general election in line with ECOWAS supplementary protocol 2021 to observe elections in Nigeria.
Ajibewa said Articles 11, 12, and 13 of the protocol mandated the commission to deploy an electoral fact-finding mission to every member state of ECOWAS that were about to conduct the election, especially, the presidential election.
He stressed that the delegation’s visit to Nigeria was not the first time as that was done during other previous elections in the country, including the 2019 general election.
Ajibewa said ECOWAS looked forward to successful and credible elections in West African countries especially, Nigeria in 2023, given the leadership role the country played in the sub-region.
“We all know the importance Nigeria holds, given the fact that, as they used to say, if Nigeria sneezes, the whole of West Africa catches a cold and we don’t pray that will be the result. So, we are here to listen to you, to see the area of challenges that we might also report,” he said.
During the interactive session former Chairman of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan said, INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, assured the ECOWAS delegation assure
INEC’s commitment to Nigeria’s free, fair and credible elections, driven by technology, says the 2023 general election in Nigeria will be driven by technology not only as a matter of legal requirement but also as a matter of course, for us in the commission.
