Members of the ruling parties in Nigeria have been charged to treat opposition parties members with the desired respect and dignity as co-citizens.
Elder statesman and former Governor of Ebonyi State, Chief Martin Elechi, dropped the advice on Monday in Abakaliki.
Elechi spoke in the Ebonyi State capital during the kick-off event for a four-day orientation training organised by the Ebonyi State Government for newly-appointed Commissioners and other senior government functionaries.
The meeting was presided over by Chief Elechi.
The former Governor lamented the high level of maltreatment, abuse and deprivation meted on opposition party members by the ruling parties across the country, describing the development as unwise, stupid and contrary to democratic principles.
Elechi stressed: “The unwisest and most stupid thing we do is to maltreat people from the opposition political parties.
“It gives me headache, bellyache, heartache and all manner of aches to see people in the ruling party maltreating others of the opposition parties.
“This is not how democracy should work.
“It doesn’t work like that for the people we learnt democracy from.
“Respect the rights of other people to belong and associate according to their conscience.
“Our own should not be different.”
The former Governor charged all political office holders to be fair to all in the distribution of national wealth and benefits without recourse to political party affiliation.
Elechi commended Governor Francis Nwifuru for initiating the training, urging him not to relent in discharging goodness in the midst of fast decaying and eroding political morality in the society.
While tasking the appointees on comportment, professionalism and integrity, he described them as the ambassadors of government before the people.
He further advised them to always remain who they are in all circumstances and never do things that would tarnish their images.
“To be yourself means that you have faith and want to achieve relevance in what you are doing,” Elechi emphasised.
Governor Nwifuru, while declaring open the workshop, charged the Commissioners and other appointees to embrace alternative conflict resolution strategies in solving challenges of their offices.
He also charged them to defend the government, put in their best and promote mutual unity, peace, love and development of the State.
While admonishing the office holders to be courteous and fair to all persons seeking audience with them, he urged them to always employ more of the strategies of negotiation, mediation, conciliation and arbitration in handling issues concerning their offices.
Nwifuru added: “We thought it wise that it is good to sit down with government officials, interact and engage experienced professionals to train them on what the people expect from them in line with our people’s charter of needs.”
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Nwifuru further eulogised Elechi for all his sacrifices for the State, and appreciated him for accepting to preside over the training.
In an opening remark, the Secretary to State Government, Prof. Grace Umezurike, expressed gratitude to the Governor.
She enjoined participants to pay rapt attention to the resource persons so as to justify the State Government’s investment in the exercise.
“Note that after this training, you have no reason to fail,” Umezurike emphasised.
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