LAGOS COUNCIL POLL: IPAC CONDEMNS VIOLENCE AT PARTIES" PRIMARIRS

The Lagos State Chapter of the Inter-Party
Advisory Council (IPAC) on Thursday
condemned cases of violence during
primaries conducted by some political
parties ahead of the July 22 council polls in
the state.
The Chairman, Mr. Kola Ajayi, told the
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos
that the recorded violence was an
embarrassment to IPAC and a threat to
grassroots democracy.
Ajayi said the deaths and destruction that
characterised some of the primaries meant
that some politicians still believe in do-or-
die politics.
“We are worried about cases of violence
which resulted in deaths and destruction in
the primaries of some political parties.
“The development is disturbing as it raises
some fear that the main election might
record some violence with the way some
people are going about politics.
“Look at the case of somebody that was
shot dead at Shogunle during a
councillorship primary on Monday, we hear
that the killer’s mother has been hacked to
death as a reprisal attack.
“You ask yourself, what for? I think we
should not allow all this to continue.
Something must be done to stop it,” he
said.
Ajayi said findings by IPAC had revealed
that intra-party violence was mostly caused
by the absence of internal democracy in the
conduct of party affairs.
He said the idea of imposing
candidates on people was anti-
democratic and urged parties to stop the
practice.
The chairman said the country’s democracy
would not thrive if it remained under the
control of godfathers.
He urged politicians to stop using
hoodlums for violence as they might end up
being victims of the bad practice.
Ajayi advised the police to restrategise by
ensuring security at political gatherings and
elections.
“Also, we at IPAC, established to foster
inter-party harmony, would do our best to
address the problem of violence at
elections.
“We would hold a workshop where experts
will educate representatives of parties on
how they can go about their business
without violence.
“We will also sensitise the people on the
need to practice responsible politics
through the mass media and other
platforms,” he said.
Ajayi urged the Lagos State Independent
Electoral Commission (LASIEC) to live up to
its promise of a free and fair council
election on July 22, to guarantee peace.