‘Issues-based campaigns critical’
Meanwhile, in addition to the provisions of Section 92 of the Electoral Act that speaks to the prohibition of certain conduct at political campaigns, there is an increasing call on political parties and candidates to base their campaigns on issues and not personal attacks for the benefit of all.
Former President Goodluck Jonathan and his deputy, Namadi Sambo, at the 2022 IBB Legacy Dialogue in Abuja on Thursday asked candidates and their supporters to shun hate speech and focus on issues.
Sambo said, “As we approach the critical stage towards the 2023 general election in Nigeria, it is important to use this opportunity to call on all political parties and indeed, candidates and other key stakeholders to adopt issue-based campaigns. We must all shun the use of hate or foul language and mudslinging to avoid overheating the polity.”
Similarly, the Chairman of the Transition Monitoring Group, Auwal Rafsanjani, explained that some political parties indeed had no programmes or agenda and were only interested in getting power, which made them focus on irrelevant things. He called on Nigerians to resist such parties.
He said in an interview with our correspondent on Thursday, “Politicians do that deliberately in order to run away from the issues and it is important that we resist that. What we need are tangible programmes that we can use to hold them accountable, not abuse, personal attacks or sweet talk that we can’t hold on to.
“At all levels of the contest, we want to know their plans on security, how they plan to revitalise the education sector, fight corruption, strengthen anti-corruption institutions, improve health care, infrastructure, public procurement process, address illicit financial flow and how they plan to create an enabling environment for businesses and industries.
“They are elected on the basis of those commitments they made and we in the TMG are interested in seeing issues-based debates by all so that we can hold them accountable on that basis.”