HOLD POLITICIANS TO ACCOUNT IN 2019 CAMPAIGNS

As Presidential and National Assembly campaigns for the 2019 general election commenced on Sunday, the electorate are advised to get politicians committed to their manifestos by signing a bond with them before voting them into power.

Some political stakeholders in Enugu State gave the advice while interacting with newsmen on the need for issue based campaigns.

A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision-making process within a specific group.

It is a platform when the candidates of various political parties made known to the public what they intend to achieve, if voted into office.

Regrettably, most of these politicians do not keep to their promises but resort to personal aggrandizement all to the detriment of the society.

This is why as the political parties are getting set to heat the airwaves with jingles and advertisement on pages of newspapers, a political analyst, Mr. Chinedu Aro said campaigners should be made to sign documents establishing al their promises to the people.

Mr. Aro believes that the electorate should be proactive to holding politicians accountable than waiting to complain when they failed to deliver.

The Chairman, Inter Party Adversary Committee (IPAC), Godwin Oke, and the State Chairman of KOWA Party, Mr. Chinedu Auchie maintained that the Memorandum of Understanding signed by various political parties, INEC and security agencies would go a long way to moderate the campaign to the required standard.

Speaking on the role of the media to ensuring a hitch-free campaign, the Chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Enugu State Chapter, Comrade Rex Arum, called for adequate censorship of political materials by media practitioners to avoid misleading the public.

For the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Enugu State, Mr. Emeka Ononamadu, the electorate should properly assess the credibility of the contestants to ensure that those who would impact positively to the society were elected.

Others who spoke on their expectations during the campaign said unrealizable promises by politicians would not be accepted and urged the people not to sell their conscience for mere gratification.

The respondents maintained that election was never a do or die affair and expected that the politicians should play the game according to the rules.

OBINNA OGBUKA