Director, Department of State Services, Kwara State, Mr. Williams Ologba; former state Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association Prof. Muhammed Akanbi; and a lecturer, Department of Business Administration, University of Ilorin, Dr. Umar Gunu, have urged politicians to avoid violence in the forthcoming elections.

They spoke in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, on Monday at a seminar on 'Free, fair, peaceful and credible election as an essential ingredient for good governance.'

The seminar was organised by the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission.

Ologba, who was represented by an official of the SSS, F.B. Michael, said playing the right politics, by ensuring the enthronement of internal party democracy as well as addressing issues of insecurity, were germane to the attainment of free and fair elections.

"There should be a paradigm shift from 'do-or-die politics' to embracing the ideals of good sportsmanship; from selfish disposition to selfless service; from the urge to acquire more to making sacrifice; from partisanship to nationalism; and of course, from unpatriotic acts to patriotism for a better nation," the SSS boss said.

Akanbi urged the political class in Kwara to put national interest above personal or party considerations by eschewing political or electoral violence, lawlessness, intolerance and politics of material inducement.

"One way of removing violence from politics is by ridding it of election rigging and the lure of financial profits, wealth, power, and prestige. And that can only be done by reassigning priority to capability, integrity, and virtue as he criteria for selecting people's representatives in government," Akanbi said.

Gunu advised politicians to commit themselves to providing credible and responsible leadership for the various stakeholders engaged in the electoral process.

He added that the politicians  should support the sustenance of enabling environment for the preparation, conduct and acceptance of elections.

"If our politicians, individually and collectively, resolve to be principled, and play by the game from the level of the party through general elections based on the provisions of the law, we shall have credible elections," Gunu said.