NEWS

Network Of Concerned Citizens Calls For Unity To Achieve Virile Democracy

<h4>Network Of Concerned Citizens Calls For Unity<&sol;h4>&NewLine;<h4><&sol;h4>&NewLine;<p><strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">OpenLife Nigeria<&sol;a><&sol;strong> reports that the Network of Concerned Citizens &lpar;NCC&rpar;&comma; a political pressure group based in the North has called for a renewed commitment to national unity and democratic engagement in Nigeria as the country approaches another election year in 2027&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>NCC gave this fresh charge in a statement it made available to journalists on Tuesday through its convener&comma; a former General Secretary of <strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">Nigeria Union Of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers&comma; &lpar;NUPENG<&sol;a><&sol;strong>&rpar; and former National Chairman of Alliance for Democracy &lpar;AD&rpar;&comma; Comrade Adamu Song&comma; the Wakili Asbiti Adamawa&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The statement emphasised the need for a united Nigeria and the active participation of citizens in the democratic process&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>It also noted that it was the responsibility of the authorities to provide platforms that enable citizens to serve better&period; NCC maintained that there was a need for Nigerians to shun attitudes that could make Nigeria seem like it was not one country&comma; adding that such negative mindset should be perished among citizens&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;There is no doubt absolutely that Nigeria is one&comma; and there is enough evidence to prove that&period; From our culture to our traditions&comma; the similarities apparently outweigh the differences&comma; even language&comma; which some consider a dividing factor&comma; is only a means of communication&period; We must reject division and celebrate our unity as Nigerians&period;”<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The remarks of the statement signed by Adamu Song literally set the tone which focused on engaging Nigerians in conversations about democracy&comma; governance&comma; and national development at a time like this&period; It further stressed the need for citizens to take ownership of the democratic process&comma; citing declining voter turnout as a worrying trend that should be reversed and nipped in the bud&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Asbiti said&colon; <em><strong>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;We all knew that in the last 2023 general election&comma; despite 93 million registered voters and collected PVCs&comma; only eight million votes were enough to install the president&period; This unimpressive outcome serves as a reminder that many Nigerians are not exercising their legally supported civic responsibilities&period; This utter disconnect&comma; coupled with other electoral malpractices&comma; erode the principles and tenets of constitutional democracy&comma;”<&sol;strong><&sol;em> he noted&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>NCC&&num;8217&semi;s statement also underscored the urgent need for a paradigm shift on how Nigerians should approach governance and leadership&comma; calling for a different way of thinking&comma; behaving&comma; and holding leaders <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;vanguardngr&period;com&sol;">accountable&comma;<&sol;a> emphasizing that citizens need to place attention on finding solutions rather than just complaining or showing aparthy during election&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Writing from the patriotic point of view&comma; this is not about political parties&comma;” NCC clarified&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;It is inclusivity and the importance of engaging Nigerians without focusing on political affiliations&period; It is essentially about capturing the voice of all Nigerians&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;We must voice our concerns about developmental challenges&comma; especially leadership&comma;” he said&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;This is not the time to exchange votes for foodstuffs&period; <&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>&&num;8220&semi;The North particularly must rise above such politics and advocate for good leadership that prioritizes the people’s welfare&period; Political awareness must grow in our region&comma; and we must all join our thoughts and efforts to build the nation&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;While we exist as a formidable and independent pressure group who wants the best for Nigeria in all fronts&comma; we also reaffirm our willingness to work with any political party or political candidate whose beliefs and ideals are masses-driven and people-oriented&period; <&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>&&num;8220&semi;We also use this occasion to call on those in power to strengthen fundamental constitutional principles and values&comma; while also alerting Nigerians to remain intellectually and legally forceful against any anti-democratic forces poised to undermine the constitutional foundations of the country’s unity&comma; progress and its cherished democracy&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;For the benefit of those who have not been monitoring our progress and activities in the last few years&comma; NCC is open to all Nigerians&comma; but predominantly northern based&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>&&num;8220&semi;We are made up of former State Assembly Speakers&comma; former lawmakers at both Federal and State Assemblies&comma; former Local Government Chairmen&comma; leaders of civil society groups&comma; academia&comma; diplomats&comma; trade union leaders&comma; community leaders&comma; opinion leaders&comma; and youth organizations with the deepest concern to see Nigeria prospering politically&comma; and socio-economically even as the country prepares for another election circle in 2027&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;We are equally not averse to the calls for electoral reform which we ultimately consider as part of a broader effort to strengthen Nigeria’s democratic framework and ensure that the electoral process is free and fair&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>&&num;8220&semi;Our interest also aims to address the deficiencies exposed during the 2023 general elections and to restore public confidence in the electoral process&period; We are indeed interested to see the success of the Electoral Reform Act to ensure that the lapses of 2023 are not repeated in 2027&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;NCC is also pressing for reforms to make electronic transmission of results compulsory&comma; criminalize vote buying&comma; enable early and diaspora voting&comma; including reserved seats for women within the political landscape&period; <&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>&&num;8220&semi;Besides&comma; we also advocate for stronger voter education&comma; tougher action against vote buying and violence&comma; financial and operational autonomy for the Independent National Electoral Commission &lpar;INEC&rpar;&comma; stricter oversight of political parties&comma; and broader inclusion of women&comma; youth&comma; and persons with disabilities and other vulnerable segments of the society&period;”<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<figure id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;32848" aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-32848" style&equals;"width&colon; 279px" class&equals;"wp-caption alignnone"><img class&equals;"size-medium wp-image-32848" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2026&sol;02&sol;Comrade-Adamu-Song-640x689-1-279x300&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Network Of Concerned Citizens Calls For Unity To Achieve Virile Democracy" width&equals;"279" height&equals;"300" &sol;><figcaption id&equals;"caption-attachment-32848" class&equals;"wp-caption-text"><em><strong>Comrade Adamu Song<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;

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