CHAIRMAN of the Borno State Chapter of Inter-party Advisory Council (IPAC), Alhaji Aminu Gwandu, has said the objectives of the council was to promote “inter-party dialogue and collaborations” among all registered political parties with a view to contributing to a violence-free, fair and transparent democratisation process in country.

Gwandu, who made the pledge at a news conference in Maiduguri while presenting a newly-elected seven-member IPAC executives that could work towards ‘building an egalitarian and progressive society’ in Borno State, said the only way IPAC could sustain a permanent change was to create a new way of thinking, acting and being able to move Borno State forward and the country at large.

His words: “Our leadership will be motivated by the fear of God, respect for humanity and adherence to the rule of law. We are determined, committed and ready to move this state forward. Political parties should realise the need to be more democratic in the conduct of their activities in ensuring peace, unity, understanding and respect for each other, transparency and credibility of the electoral process.”

While commending the Federal Government for the hardwork and success recorded in fighting Boko Haram terrorists and insurgency in North-East, more should be done by the military and other security agencies to further protect people’s lives and property.

“The military and other security agencies must be commended for a job well done despite the fact that more need to be done to completely wipe out the insurgents that have claimed the lives of many people in the affected sub-region for over six years,” said Gwandu.

He also commended Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State for creating a new Ministry of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement, saying: “It is now clear that this administration is determined to rapidly re-develop the affected areas and put smiles on the faces of all Internally-Displaced Persons (IDPs) as soon as the insurgency problem is over. We also appreciate the activities of some Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) such as United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Red Cross, Action Hunger, Medicine Sene Frontiers (MSF) and International Organisation of Migration (IOM). They are doing everything possible to complement the state government in assisting the IDPs in various camps of Maiduguri metropolis.”

He, however, warned: “We want to also call on all political parties not to engage in violent activities of any kind as a way of demonstrating its strength. All parties shall publicly condemn any form of political violence during the forthcoming Borno Central bye-elections.”