With exactly 90 days to the D-Day, the battle for who clinches the nation’s top seat will assume a new dimension, as political parties officially commence their campaigns for Presidential and National Assembly elections today.
According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) timetable and schedule of activities for the 2019 general election, campaigns for national elections which consist of Presidential and National Assembly (polls) will kick-off today, Sunday, 18th November, 2018.
INEC’s current figures indicate that while 79 presidential candidates will contest for the nation’s Number One job, 1,803 candidates will vie for the 109 seats in the Senate, as against 4,548 for the 360 House of Representatives positions.
It is expected that political parties involved in the presidential race and individuals that would be taking part in the National Assembly election, would begin to launch their campaign in ernest.
As it stands, the two leading political parties, the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC), are yet to fully announce names of their presidential campaign councils.
Unlike in the past when parties and their standard bearers opened their mouth and made all manner of promises to the Nigerian people without any commitment to delivering on those promises, politicians have been advised to keep their promises within the limit of their capacity to deliver.
They have also been reminded that it is not going to be business as usual and that “deceptive promises”, intended to hoodwink the electorate would no longer be tolerated.
To track parties’ and individual politicians’ promises this time around, Society Situation Room – a coalition of over 70 civil society organisations in Nigeria, said it had committed to ensuring that things were done the proper way and that promises made are kept.
In an e-mail sent to BDSUNDAY, Situation Room said the group will keep tab on the campaign promises made by parties and their standard bearers.
Situation Room also stressed the need for candidates to make themselves available for debates. This, it believed, would enable the electorate assess them.
“Nigerians expect that the campaigns will be an opportunity for them to know those seeking to occupy the soon-to-be vacant positions of President, Vice President, National Legislators, Governors, Governors’ Deputies and State Legislative positions. Citizens expect that persons campaigning to fill these positions will justify through their campaigns, what they intend to do should they win elections. It is expected that the campaigns will afford citizens the opportunity of knowing the candidates and that they will make voting decisions based on the credentials of those seeking their votes.
“Civil Society Organisations and election observers have indicated a preparedness to keep tab on the campaign promises made by candidates with a view to holding them to the promises made. It is also expected that candidates will make themselves available and ready to debate among themselves, in order for citizens to have a good understanding of what they represent,” the statement read.
A political scientist, TaiyeOdewale, emphasised the need for parties to focus on issues of restructuring, security as well as how to address the rising population in the country.
“As an ordinary Nigerian, I want them (political candidates) to let Nigerians know in specific terms how they are going to address Nigeria’s uncontrollable population growth. Because the rate at which the population is growing compared to the way the economy is dwindling is already affecting the present administration. The country is supposed to have a mechanism of knowing accurately its population and checkmating it, regardless of whatever religious beliefs we say we are practising. Because if you don’t control population, you will only be making empty promises as regards job creation.
“The other area is a long term one. We are running a dysfunctional system. We call ourselves a Federal but the Nigerian system is fashioned towards unitary. That is the reason things are not right. So we have to address that dysfunctionality in the system. If you like call it restructuring, true federalism, what I know is that the system we have been running right from when we missed the track in 1966 when the military came and got the whole structure centralised, things have not been well with the country,” Odewale said.
According to him, “There is also the area of security. And there is no way you will talk of security without talking of state police. Even the Vice President talked about it recently. You can’t bring state police without constitutional amendment. You need to change it from Exclusive List and bring it to Concurrent List; so that states that have the resources can set their own police force for effective policing in their various territories”.
Some campaign organisations that spoke with BDSUNDAY said they were not interested in pulling a wool over the eyes of Nigerians, as they mean to take the country to the next level through robust offering if voted into power in 2019.
OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja
