By Mike ALADENIKA.
The Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II has called on all politicians and candidates contesting the forthcoming Edo State Governorship Election slated for the 19th of September,2020 to shun violence as "no Election is worth dying for".
The Oba of Benin who stated this, among other issues he raised, Thursday, when he played host to the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, who led a team of stakeholders in the conduct of the election to the palace, said Nigerians and politicians should have learnt a lesson from former Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan who said his election does not worth the blood of any Nigerian.
Oba Ewuare II who condemned the high level of violence and tension attached to the contest said “I will do my best to invite the governorship candidates for this election, particularly the two gladiators. I will call Ize-iyamu and Obaseki to tell them we do not want violence, we want peace”.
The Benin Monarch who said no life is worth the election, appealed to Edo people to eschew election-related violence, and not to sacrifice their lives for greedy politicians.
“All those who want to turn the state into a battleground, the law of karma will visit them one by one,” the monarch added.
He urged the governorship candidates to imitate the decision of the former president, Goodluck Jonathan, who conceded defeat in the 2015 presidential election, in other to avoid violence.
As a possible panacea to regular Election related violence, the oba of Benin is proposing a possible adoption of a "six year single term for all elective positions" stressing that, one of the reasons why the single tenure may not have been adopted is because most elected officers fail to perform, adding that if there are mechanisms to evaluate performance periodically during their tenures, they will sit up, perform their duties and it will go a long way to reduce tensions in o elections.
“Assuming it is a single term of six years, appraisal will be done every two years, and if they don’t meet up to standard after the evaluation performance, they will face impeachment", the Oba said.
In their varrious remarks, the INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu expressed gratitude to the Oba of Benin for his kind gesture and assured the palace that Commission is ready for the election.
“INEC is not a political party. The choice of who becomes the governor lies on the people,” he said, while Edo State Commissioner of Police, Johnson Kokumo said they are collaborating with security agencies, particularly, Nigerian Navy, to ensure a violence-free election.
#SPARKNEWSNAIJA(SNN).
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