By Olamide Dare

Department of Mass Communication

The President, Faculty Association of Social Science Students (FASSS), Comrade Mattew David Jega has officially lifted the ban on election campaigns within the Faculty. Comrade Jega lifted the ban on Tuesday, September 12, 2023, at the Faculty Congress held at the twin lecture theatre. 

During the Congress, the Electoral Committee (ELCOM) saddled with the responsibility of conducting the 2023 FASSS election was inaugurated and mandated to swing into action and communicate the modalities and date of the election to both the students and the aspirants. Already, about 14 candidates have declared their intention to run for various positions in the forthcoming Faculty election.

Speaking shortly after his inauguration, the Electoral Committee Chairman, Comrade Shuaib Abdul-Lateef (Emperor), pledged his commitment to the students and the aspirants, assuring them to expect a free, fair, and credible election.

He stated, “As I said earlier, while I was being sworn in as the ELCOM Chairman before the congress, the students should expect a transparent and credible election. People around me know that I am very accountable, trustworthy, and straightforward.“

On the proposed date of the election, Abdul-Lateef noted that the election might be in two days' time though not official yet, but a press release will be sent out when concluded. He admonished the candidates to heed the instruction of the Dean of the Faculty to avoid class-to-class campaigns as well as election malpractices that may lead to outright disqualification.

“Like the Dean of the Faculty said, there should be no class-to-class campaign. No candidate should interrupt any lecture no matter what, even if it is their lecturer, and anyone found guilty will be disqualified. They should be very careful and avoid election malpractices," the Chairman warned.

In his remarks, the Secretary of the Committee, Comrade Adeniyi John also assured the Faculty of his preparedness to work hand-in-hand with the Chairman and other members of the Committee to conduct one of the freest and most transparent student elections in the history of the University.

“I will work closely with the Chairman to ensure we conduct one of the best elections in this School, not in the Faculty but in FUL as a whole. I am not minding my words, I am saying this with all sense of honesty and sincerity.

He added that his nomination was a call to serve and better society, averring that it is against his principle to participate in anything biased. Comrade John maintained that only the best and the most preferred candidates would win this election. 

To conduct a violence-free election, the ELCOM Secretary noted that the Committee would reach out to the Security Unit of the University to provide adequate security personnel who would be on the ground to ensure peace and orderliness before, during, and after the election.

“We are going to reach out to the School Security, we will discuss with them to give us enough men that day so that there won't be any form of violence. Like I often tell people, school politics is one of the most dangerous but still one of the best depending on the players. So we will not give room to chances. We will carry the Security Unit along with the support of the Dean.

"In all, with the calibre of members of the Electoral Committee, we are good to go and I am assuring my co-students that the election will be free, fair, and credible," he promised. See more pictures here

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