As Nigeria marks its Democracy Day, the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) has called for a free and fair election come 2023 General Elections.
Director of CDD, Idayat Hassan, who made the call on Sunday in a statement in Abuja, said that Nigerians deserve more after 23 years of democratic rule,
She urged Nigerians to support initiatives that unite the country and promote good governance.
Nigeria Democracy Day was previously marked on May 29, being the day the military handed over power to an elected civilian government in 1999.
But the Muhammadu Buhari government changed the day to June 12 in solidarity with MKO Abiola Day, usually celebrated in Lagos and some states to commemorate the democratic election of Abiola on June 12, 1993.
Hassan, who expressed concerns over the forthcoming election, stressed that any attempt to disrupt peaceful election must be countered by Nigerians.
According to her, credible, free and fair election is as critical as democracy and as such, politicians and all their supporters must priorities the interest of the nation instead of fueling disunity.
“We appreciate the efforts being made by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) so far. No Nigerian must be disenfranchised.
“We want the vote of Nigerians to also count. Politicians must understand the plight of Nigerians and desist from any action that will lead to disunity,” Hassan said.
She urged politicians to focus on issue-based campaign and desist from disinformation or fake news.
“It is also important that politicians desist from using religion and ethnicity to further divide the country.
“The level of division we have seen is enough. It is time for us to unite,” Hassan said.