Media-Nigeria - KOGI State council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists [NUJ] has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission [INEC] to prosecute those planning to rig the forthcoming election including the staff of the commission found wanting in the discharge of their responsibility. State chairman of the NUJ, Mallam Ali Atabor disclosed this while speaking during the official visit of the state executive council of the union to the State Resident Commissioner of the commission, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar Ahamdu in his office in Lokoja, stressing that the country is passing through a major phase in its history and the nation could not afford not to have a credible, free and fair election which would be a pride to the entire nation.

According to the NUJ boss, "in view of the importance of the forthcoming election which is to elect those that will pilot the affairs of the country we should not allow anybody including INEC officials to be use to commit any form of electoral fraud and those caught we in NUJ want their names to be published and made to face the full wrath of the law no matter their position in the society".

On the part of NUJ, he explained that working journalists would continue to partner with the electoral body through objective reporting of the activities of the commission in order to ensure that the forthcoming general election is credible, free and fair which would be accepted to all Nigerians.

"In order to ensure that we put INEC on its toes we have set up a high power monitoring team that would ensured that this time our vote must count and at the end of the day the team will submit it report which will be made public for all Nigerians to know if the election is credible, free and fair or not", Atabor added.

In his remark, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar Ahmadu assured all Nigerians that the forthcoming election would be credible, free and fair which will be accepted as the best election so far conducted in the political history of the nation.

To this end, he added that, "vote must count people must count it is going to be one man, one woman and one youth vote and I am bold to say that all form of rigging have been eliminated this time around our vote must count and the real winner will be declared as the winner no room for rigging and I can assured you that INEC will get it right during the forthcoming election".

Timothy Ajiboye

Daily Champion/30/03/2011