INEC condemns destruction of campaign billboards

The Independent National Electoral Commission has flayed political parties for vandalising campaign posters and billboards mounted by their opponents.

The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, in an interview, said the actions of the parties were in violation of the commission’s Code of Conduct for Political Parties.

He expressed disapproval at the acts of mutilation, saying, “Beyond the Electoral Act, there is the code of conduct that the parties have signed. This is not in the spirit of the code of conduct.”

According to Idowu, Section 7 of the code states that during campaigns, no political party or candidate should resort to the use of inflammatory language, provocative actions, images or manifestation that incite violence, hatred, contempt or intimidation against another party or candidate or any person or group of persons on grounds of ethnicity or gender or for any other reason.

He also cited Section 14, which states, “No political party or candidate shall prevent other parties or candidates from pasting their posters or distributing their leaflets, hand bills and other publicity materials in public places.

“Furthermore all parties and candidates shall give directives to their members and supporters not to remove, destroy the posters and other campaign materials of other parties or candidates.”

There have been several reports of such acts of vandalism, several of which came from the two main parties, the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress.

Earlier this month, campaign billboards of the PDP’s presidential candidate, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, were reportedly destroyed by unknown persons in Abuja.

Similarly, the APC in Ekiti State accused Gov. Ayodele Fayose of destroying posters of its presidential candidate, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) and other APC candidates for the 2015 general elections.

Fayose, through his Special Assistant (Information), Mr. Lanre Ogunsuyi, however, dismissed the claims as a figment of the imagination of the APC.

In November 2014, there were also reports that the campaign billboards of Senate President David Mark, who is a member of the PDP, were destroyed.

Sunday Punch