At Annual Lecture, BSN Sets Agenda for Credible Polls
The 14th edition of the Founder’s Day Annual Lecture and Awards Ceremony of The Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN) held on February 8, 2023, in Lagos was an opportunity for representatives of government, organised labour, private sector players, clergymen and women, and professionals from all walks of life to engage in a robust intellectual discourse on the pathway to credible elections come February 25, 2023. The Guest Speaker, renowned lawyer and Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law, Barrister Monday Ubani, postulated that the game changer in this election would be the innovative provisions for electronic accreditation and transmission of results as prescribed in the new Electoral Act 2022. He, therefore, charged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to perfect the usage of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) before the forthcoming elections.
The former president of the NBA Ikeja Branch added that the next president of Nigeria must be a global citizen with the needed capacity and wisdom and must not be chosen based on tribalism, religious affinity, language similarity, blood relationship, school friendship, business partnership, or questionable philanthropy. For Lady Maiden Alex Ibru, Publisher of The Guardian, Nigerians must utilise the power of the ballot to root out scavengers, who masquerade as democrats, but use hidden agendas to further polarise the country and enslave the citizenry.
The Founder’s Day Annual Lecture and Awards Ceremony is in commemoration of the establishment of The Bible Society of Nigeria on February 8, 1966, through the sacrificial work of its founding leaders. It is also an event where men and women, who have distinguished themselves in the furtherance of the objectives of the Society, are honoured. This year’s edition attracted personalities such as the Rt. Hon. Badmus Olujobi, a former Deputy Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, who represented the distinguished Senator Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu; former Secretary General of the NADECO, Chief Barrister Ayo Opadokun; Commissioner for Mines and Energy, Engr. Razaq Obe, who represented the Executive Governor of Ondo State, among other eminent personalities.