‘’Even with the little time left for the elections to hold, we strongly believe that a meeting of the leadership of the two political parties, the APC and the PDP, will send a powerful message to our compatriots and, indeed, the international community and douse the tension that is building up ahead of the election,’’ Lai Mohammed of APC. He also assured Nigerians that the party would accept the results of the elections if they are free and fair. Below is the Press Release by Lai Mohammed: “Following a meeting of the representatives of both parties in Washington, DC, United States, April 7-8 2014, under the auspices of the CSIS Nigeria Election Forum, it was agreed that a joint meeting of both parties be convened to discuss and agree on the crucial issue of a code of conduct for the campaigns and the elections, we wrote a letter to the PDP suggesting a bipartisan meeting to address the issue. The PDP agreed to the proposal and suggested that it should be expanded to include the leadership of other political parties in the country. However, problem with logistics meant that the meeting did not hold. “We have heard from Nigerians who are so afraid about possible violence during the forthcoming election that they are even willing to relocate to other countries until after the elections. But, as the biggest opposition party in Nigeria and a major stakeholder in our nation’s democracy, we are assuring, on our part, that there will be no violence. “Though our party has no history of violence, we have commenced a nationwide effort to sensitise our members and supporters to the need to eschew rancour and embrace non-violent methods, even in the face of the kind of provocations to which we were subjected during the Ekiti and Osun governorship elections, when our members were needlessly harassed, arrested and detained by partisan security agencies acting under orders from the FG. “If the Federal Government allows a level playing field for all contestants, if the security agencies stop acting as the armed wing of the ruling PDP, if the electoral umpire will carry out its duties without fear, favour or bias and if citizens are allowed to exercise their franchise unmolested, the stage will be set for a non-violent, free, fair and credible polls. In other words, the government has a major role to play in making the forthcoming polls peaceful. “On our part, in addition to other efforts aimed at ensuring a peaceful election, we pledge to accept the result of an election that is not only free, fair, credible and transparent, but one that is also seen to be so. We hope other parties will make a similar pledge.’’ Good one APC, thats what we expect, the tension in the country is so high that you can cut it with a knife. People are even afraid of coming out to vote. I agree with you that all the Political Party leaders should sit and agree on the modality, with INEC as the umpire because INEC is the one empowered to conduct election and you cannot discuss this without them being involved. Also, security operatives should be involved. It will be made clear that anyone who feel aggrieved should follow due process to address his or her grievances and not take the law into his hand, we have had cases where election results are cancelled and the actual winner announced. we are tired of loosing lives, all Political parties should see the security people as the organ to maintain security and peace. Yes there was so much hype around the presence of security people in the five governorship elections, still, the popular candidate emerged and those who felt cheated went to court, Ngige lost, Omisore is still fighting his own case. Others declined to challenge the election. Thats what we want. Dont see the security as an arm that will favour another. Dont assume or preempt anything. If you love Nigeria, please stick to realities and not violence. Even the manner campaigns are being done is filled with tension, let it be issue based and constructive. God Bless Nigeria.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 14:28:17 +0000
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