Off Cycle Governorship Polls: Centre advises INEC to beware of past mistakes

Ahead of the November 11, 2023, governorship polls in Imo, Bayelsa and Kogi states, the GOTNI Leadership Centre, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to avoid making past mistakes and ensure that all promises made to Nigerians are fulfilled.

The organisation argued that unfulfilled promises made by the commission would aid voter apathy, saying it would be bad for the nation’s democracy.

Founder of the Centre, Linus Okorie, who gave the advice in Abuja at the Emerging Leaders Conference, themed, ‘The Future of Work’, also urged opposition parties and their candidates to join hands with President Bola Tinubu to move the nation forward.

He attributed the deficiency in leadership training and mentorship to the problems plaguing the country.

Okorie said: “The Supreme Court of our country has delivered its judgment and we now have officially a president. So, everybody should all come together. Let’s build a country that works for all of us.

“Specifically, in my own context as a leadership development coach, I would like positive energies to be reflected and it will be my call to INEC to go back to the drawing board and ensure that they do not make the type of mistakes that they made in the past where they made commitments to the public and failed to fulfill those commitments.

“We want a situation where there will always be free and fair elections in the future. And if you ask me, literally, now that the Supreme Court has delivered its judgment, I want to urge every other player to please join force; let us fix our country and make it better than it is right now for the young people.”

Okorie further noted that the youth would continue to grope in ignorance and joblessness if they do not broaden their skills in Information, Communication and Technology (ICT), following the changing dynamics of the world.

He reiterated his call for the government to vote funds for constant training and retraining of youths to enable them to be at par with their contemporaries globally.

He explained that the Emerging Leaders Conference would provide an opportunity for young people to network with their peers across the country and different sectors of the economy, thus inspiring a peer-review mechanism that would strengthen their commitment to continuous improvement, growth and making positive contributions to their immediate environment and the country at large.

“Technology is rising. Globalisation is huge. So, what it means is that these changing environments sometimes will actually get people off work. A lot of people are going to lose their jobs.

“Because of that, it is important for young people to begin now to prepare themselves with the type of leadership skills that they need to function in this new world we’re talking about.

“We have assembled some of the best minds from within and outside Nigeria to come and speak to these young people.

“And I am already thrilled by the celebration of knowledge; the energy that is in the room. I believe that it will inspire the political class to also invest so that they will love this country like never before,” he said.