Edo Guber: CSO to party candidates, ‘do-or-die’ not worth blood of Edo citizens

Ahead of the Edo governorship election scheduled for September 19, 2020, a Civil Society Organisation, CSO, One Love Foundation, OLF, Sunday, said a ‘do-or-die’ approach to winning at all costs does not worth the blood of Edo State citizens.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Founder and President, OLF, Patrick Eholor, and made available to Vanguard, where the organization cautioned that the unnecessary heating up of the polity in the state by politicians is uncalled for.
The statement also called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to ensure the election atmosphere in Edo State is peaceful with stringent measures put in place by the Commission for free and acceptable election.The statement also called on people of the State to be well informed and be educated on who they should vote since they are the deciders of the election, and not to be used by politicians before, during and after the elections.
The statement reads in part, “We should also let the people know that the blood of any citizen of the state is not worth their reelection plan. It is not worth their victory as well.
“They all have one interest and don’t have interest in the people. We must stop that and people must be educated to go out there and register and truly vote. We must not sacrifice ourselves for these ‘bandits’.
“I urge the Ministry of Communication to go out and campaign vigorously not just to reelect Governor Godwin Obaseki but to give awareness to the people that what is not worth living for is not worth dying for. Having said that Election is about ideas, what you have for the people.”
It also called for peace because all candidates remain Edo sons and daughters hence should play according to the rules of the game and allow peace to reign by shunning all forms of violence and hate speech that is flying everywhere.
“It is also about us the electorate educating ourselves to go and vote any candidate of our choice with their manifesto. Look at their agenda. Look at what they have for you.
“If you are displeased about the absence of infrastructure, fight for it and vote for who has that in his own manifesto. If you’re displeased that we don’t have security, fight for the candidate who has security in his agenda. It is easy.
According to the statement, the responsibility of having a free and fair election come September 19 in the State remains in the hands of the Edo State Government.
“The responsibility of how we can have a free and fair election in Edo State on September 19, 2020, is on the state government. The Edo State Government should have it at the back of its mind that the majority of the citizens especially youths are not the cause of this war if there is any and they will not be the ones to end it either.
“The westerners gave us democracy and they are practicing it freely and fairly. Let us also do it the same way or let us revert back to our traditional system that we know best if we cannot trust the borrowed democracy that we are practicing.
The statement also appreciated young people and other electorates who have conducted themselves properly including women for advising their husbands that election violence does not worth their blood.
“If we can educate ourselves like this we will certainly have a free and fair election”, it added.