IPAC warns against political violence

THE  Enugu State Chapter of Interparty Advisory Council (IPAC) has called on political parties in the state to tread with caution, shun political violence in order to protect the  peace and tranquility being enjoyed in the political space of the state.

   The warning yesterday from IPAC, the umbrella organization of registered political parties in Nigeria, came on the heels of an alleged invasion of the Buhari Campaign Office in the state by suspected thugs and subsequent suspension of the state party’s Deputy Chairman and Woman Leader. 

   In a statement, the state chairman of IPAC, Hon. Afam Ani, pointed out the consequences of the deployment of thugs into the political space to perpetuate violence.  According to him, political violence and thuggery is a cankerworm that must be stamped out for the survival of the nation’s  democracy especially in view of the security challenges in the country.

   He stated that there was a need for all stakeholders in the politics of the Enugu to encourage and sustain the existing peace and political discipline, which the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the Governor, Sullivan Chime has entrenched in the past seven years. 

 Ani advised the leadership of the APC in the state to “seek more appropriate means of resolving its internal disputes” rather than engaging in acts capable of overheating the polity and undermining the peace in Enugu.

 He called on political parties to “endeavor to make efforts at advancing the principles of democracy, probity and accountability which are fundamental to the growth and development of the political institutions in Nigeria.”