Ahead of the 2023 general elections, an online news medium, PlatinumPost News, has invited notable personalities across the country to a roundtable to discuss ways of achieving violent-free elections next year.
In a statement signed Wednesday in Abuja by the Chief Executive Officer of the PlatinumPost News, Edwin Olofu, the annual roundtable, which will hold on Tuesday, November 22, was designed to contribute meaningfully to the process leading to free, fair, credible and violent-free elections in 2023.
Among the dignitaries on the occasion are the Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje; Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed; Benue State governor Samuel Ortom; Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali-Baba; Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC, Ahmed Audi and; the commissioner for Information and Voter Education for the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Festus Okoye.
Others expected at the annual roundtable organised by the PlatinumPost News include: the presidential candidate of the Action Alliance, AA, Hamza Al-Mustapha; chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC, Yabagi Yusuf-Sani; top leaders of the Nigerian Union of Journalist, NUJ, and other stakeholders in the electoral process.
The statement said Mr Ganduje would chair the occasion, while his Bauchi and Benue counterparts, Messrs Muhammed and Ortom would serve as the guest speakers.
Mr Olufu said Mr Al-Mustapha would to deliver a keynote address on the theme: “Contemporary Security Challenges & its Effects on 2023 Elections.”
The organiser said the INEC, Police IG, NSCDC boss, IPAC, CSO, International Republican Institute, IRI and the NUJ will discuss the papers and use the occasion to speak on their preparations for the 2023 elections.
According to Mr Olofu, there are contemporary security challenges Nigerian government and her people need to make concerted efforts to curb so as to ensure a peaceful exercise before, during and after the forthcoming general elections.
“As a media organisation, we have invited key stakeholders in the election process to come and share with Nigerians their efforts and preparations towards the 2023 elections. We have also invited some Chief Executives to share their experiences in their various states and put forward suggestions on how to end some of the contemporary security challenges the Nation is facing.”
Speaking on the choice of Mr Ganduje as the chairman of the occasion, Mr Olofu said: “The governor came to mind as a result of his outstanding performance piloting the affairs of the most populous and peaceful state in the North-west geopolitical zone of Nigeria, the giant strides achieved in the socio-economic development of the state and his ability to ensure the peaceful co-existence of the citizenry have remained a reference point.”
For the Bauchi state governor, the statement said, his media appearances before the primary election of his party – Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, where he spoke extensively about problems bedeviling the country and proffered well-thought out solutions qualified him to speak at the roundtable.
The Platinum Post also said Mr Ortom of Benue is invited to share his experiences on the security challenges in his state and the way forward.
“As a key member of the opposition party in the country and the governor of Benue state which is at the receiving end of the security challenges, the governor’s input on ensuring the peaceful conduct of the 2023 General Elections would be of immense benefit to Nigerians,” the statement said.
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