Politics
Party agents are crucial to election victory; Oyedepo tells politicians
Iyiola Oyedepo
Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo, President, Nations Leadership Institute has advised candidates contesting elections to choose their agents early because they are very crucial in winning elections.
Oyedepo gave the advice on Tuesday in Ilorin at a training workshop for candidates contesting for political posts.
Speaking on the workshop theme, “How to win elections, ” Oyedepo declared that agents could make or mar elections.
“It is our belief in this institute that party agents can make or mar election because they are at the final, very final stage of the electoral process.
“They are the ones that can permit fraudulent practices at the balloting areas; their negligence can cause candidates to lose an election.
“If they are the type that can easily compromise, certainly they will destroy the election. Therefore, the election can only be made or marred by agents,” he said.
Oyedepo, a lawyer said the institute has been advising politicians to appoint their agents long before the election and bring them for training.
“We will give them the quality of a typical agent, what they should look out for when looking for agents.
It is not only that they should have natural ability or talent; they should still be trained so that they did not destroy what they have been building long before the election,” he added.
He also said that political rallies with a large crowd cannot win an election because messages in such rallies have no effect on voters, adding that rallies are carnivals for dancing and singing and not to swing voters to their camp.
Oyedepo advised candidates to focus more on town hall meetings and door-to-door campaigns to ensure personal contact with voters and pass the campaign message directly to them.
He also advised candidates to always utilise social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, telegraph, and Twitter extensively to reach out to more voters in order to get a following for their campaign activities.
“To win an election, a candidate needs to plan properly and utilise available financial resources optimally to achieve electoral victory.
“A good election campaign is key and vital in ensuring victory during an election,” Iyiola added.
Also, Dr Luqman Saka of the Department of Political Science, University of Ilorin presented a paper on “Campaign plan and manifesto”.
He said that the purpose of a campaign is to attract public support for a political cause, project a party and its candidates and promote a public policy.
“To this end, a vivid example of a campaign is a group, political or social canvassing for a political candidate running for political office.
“A campaign can also relate to a coordinated series of operations undertaken to achieve a set goal, there can be an election campaign, a military campaign, or a marketing campaign,” Saka said.
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