The Nigeria Governors’ Forum has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission to investigate and prosecute anyone caught sabotaging or violating the electoral process, no matter how highly placed, during the April 11 governorship and House of Assembly elections.

It also asked the nation’s security agencies to perform their duties professionally and refused to be used to manipulate the electoral process. The Forum also urged Nigerians to troop out en masse to vote for candidates of their choice while also defending their votes. The Forum, which stated this in a statement by its Director General, Asishana Okauru, asked INEC to improve on its performance in last Saturday’s election. It said although there were complaints here and there, local and international observers rated the last elections as largely free and fair.

It said the exercise is a huge progress for Nigeria and its electoral system. “We expect that the Governorship and State Assembly elections will be even better, with INEC correcting the lapses observed in the March 28 elections,” the forum said.

“The logistics of distributing sensitive election materials should be perfected. Steps should be taken to ensure card readers work smoothly while ballot snatching and other forms of electoral fraud should be blocked.

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