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Tag: Elections

  • Don’t do ‘sit down look’ during forthcoming election – MURIC

    Don’t do ‘sit down look’ during forthcoming election – MURIC

    Prof. Ishaq Akintola, Director, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has appealed to Nigerians not to adopt a lukewarm attitude towards the forthcoming general election.

    Akintola in a statement on Monday in Lagos, appealed to Nigerians to go out and vote massively in the general election.

    ”We must not be lackadaisical about this election because it is a watershed in the history of our nation.

    ”For the first time in a very long period, Nigerians have the opportunity to choose between sentiment and objectivity and between reality and sheer mirage.

    ”We have a lifetime opportunity to choose between motion without movement and progressive motion.

    ”There is an urgent need to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor. We must vote our conscience. What we are advocating is massive turnout at the polling booths.

    ”Christians, Muslims, traditionalists must go to the polls. Nigerians of all tribes must do the same. Poverty knows no religion. Disease knows no creed and hunger knows no tribe,” he said.
    Akintola added:”The sacrifice which we must make on those voting days are not for us per se, it is for our children, our grand children and our great grand-children.

    ”Let us stand in the sun or in the rain as the case may be on that day knowing fully well that it is the day of sowing so that we can reap in future.”

    Akintola also urged young Nigerians to eschew violence in all its ramifications before, during and after the election.

    ”Those who hire thugs will continue to live after the election, many of those who allow themselves to be used may die in the process.

    ”Our youths must therefore avoid violent acts like ballot-snatching and the kidnapping of opposition candidates,” he said.

    MURIC appealed to Nigerian voters not to sell their votes saying it is their right to choose the direction they want the country to go.

    ”It is your conscience and your conscience is your essence. The man dies in him who puts his conscience on sale.

    ”We appeal to candidates of various categories in the general election to be valiant in contest, humble in victory and magnanimous in defeat. It must be Nigeria first,” he said.

  • 2019 general elections: Army pledges neutrality

    The Commanding Officer 14Brigade, Goodluck Jonathan’s Barrack Ohafia, Ohaifia Local Government Area of Abia State, Brigadier General Abdul K. Ibrahim has promised the neutrality of its personnel in February 16 and March 2 general elections respectively.

    Ibrahim stated this while playing host to officials of the Abia State Chapter of Nigeria Red Cross who paid him a courtesy visit at the Sector 2 Step-up Headquarters of Exercise Egwueke III located at Nsulu Games Village, Umunna Nsulu in Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area of the state.

    According to the 14Brigade Commander, the brigade would provide security to all the candidates of various political parties to ensure their safety and hope that the politicians would play politics with the spirit of sportsmanship.

    “Elections are just around the corner. 14 Brigade of the Nigerian Army will be neutral. We will just provide security duties and we hope that everybody will play according to the rules of the game.

    “We have received several instructions from the army headquarters on the need to be neutral and then of course, agencies like yours, we will partner with you so that our country will be better for it.”

    We are the members of the Nigeria Red Cross Society Abia State branch. We are here to introduce Red Cross movement to and to also to explain the way we can synergize with you in rendering service to Abians.”

    Earlier in his speech, the branch chairman of Red Cross Society, Abia State Chief Emeka Ubani who came in the company of the branch Secretary, Pastor Ebere Okite, Mr. Victor Okoafor, branch training officer and Miss Nwoha Charity Ekeoma said that the purpose of their visit was to seek ways of partnering and training soldiers in the state on First Aid.

    “…it is has been a long desire because wherever the military is found, we are there and by implication and by our establishment, we are the next to the soldiers. We are your closest, most reliable friends and the closest confidant that you can trust.

    “By our principles, we are independent and neutral. We don’t discriminate and that is why we are always with you.

    “We have come to establish that relationship and to show that we are here for you. You can always rely and call on us. It is unfortunate that the junior officers amongst you don’t seem to understand our relationship with them.

    “Elections are coming up, so many things are coming up and you are here (for Egwueke III), so that is why we have come to tell you that we are brothers. We want to work with you and establish that relationship for proper understanding.

    “We have competent internationally trained first aiders who can come into your various camps and train the soldiers to add to what they know and yet to know that would better their lives in the military and in your various families.”

    The secretary of Red Cross, Pastor Ebere Okite speaking on preparedness of Red Cross towards ensuring that they handle emergency cases across the state during and after the 2019 elections said “Election is the current thing and we know that in Nigeria, although that we don’t preempt it, as Red Cross, we prepare for emergencies before they occur.

    “That is why we are effective. From what we have seen, if there is anything like violence, we won’t be surprised and so, we have started preparing emergency first aid team for this particular election.

    “We want to make sure that our emergency team is on ground so that on the day of the elections, we will be in various units across the state. Our duty is to come into action whenever there is wound or disaster. We will even stay after the elections because we know that there could be post election violence. We will continue to stay some day in areas where there are expectations of violence to take care of any emergency.

    “We have come to make ourselves known to you so that you will know that we are there. When you see us, you will see us as friends who don’t take sides. We are independent, neutral and universal, these three things gives us the opportunity to be at our best. Anytime that you are ready, we will send our personnel who will come to train your men on internal and domestic first aid.”

  • Supreme Court: APC can’t present candidates in Rivers for elections

    Supreme Court: APC can’t present candidates in Rivers for elections

    The Supreme Court on Friday finally out paid to the hopes of the All Progressives Congress to present candidates for the upcoming general elections in Rivers State.

    The hope of the party had risen last week when the Court of Appeal gave it a reprieve that the Independent National Electoral Commission could go ahead and list its candidates for the elections scheduled for February 16 and March 2, 2019.

    However on Friday, the Supreme Court backed the ruling of the High Court of Rivers State that the party cannot present candidates for the election.

    The ruling of the lower court was based on the disobedience by the two factions of the party in the state not to conduct primaries except otherwise directed.

  • Journalists urged to maintain neutrality in election reporting

    Journalists urged to maintain neutrality in election reporting

    Stakeholders on Thursday in Kaduna urged Media practitioners to maintain neutrality in reporting the 2019 general elections for peace and security of the country.
    This is contained in an 11-point Communique issued at the end of a one-day maiden quarterly lecture of Kaduna State Media Corporation (KSMC), held at the Arewa House, Kaduna.
    The topic of the lecture was, Media Practice, Ownership and Ethical Delimas in Electron Coverage.
    It was meant to sensitise practitioners on dangers of partisanship in elections coverage.
    The lecture coming barely two weeks to the 2019 Presidential and National Assembly polls, was delivered by Malam Mahmud Jega, Deputy Editor-In-Chief, Media Trust limited, and chaired by Prof. Muhammad Tanko, Vice Chancellor, Kaduna State University.
    In the Communique, the participants urged media practitioners to “at all cost be neutral and accountable in their election coverage and reportage.”
    The stakeholders tasked Media owners on the need to allow professionalism and ethical conduct to guide their operations.
    “The lecture noted with concern the proliferation of unethical practices among Journalists in general reporting and elections coverage in particular.
    “Practitioners must always be guided by the election regulations as contained in the Electoral Act.
    “Participants urged the government and relevant agencies to open up the space to allow journalists access information freely.”
    They said issues of excessive secrecy of government officials, liberalization of media ownership, attitude of politicians had killed professionalism in the sector.
    The stakeholders also identified lack of good working knowledge, poor training, state-of-the-art working tools as well as poor remuneration of media practitioners as factors affecting efficiency in service delivery.
    “Some media owners even prevent their reporters from covering events of opposition political parties and elections.”
    The stakeholders also urged journalists to shun peddling hate speech and fake news, adding that “media men should as a matter of necessity interrogate claims and ensure accuracy from all news sources before going to press.”
    The communique said reporters should understand that international election observers always pay attention to media that give equal opportunity to political parties and politicians holding different opinions.
    “That is one of the key yardsticks for measuring the credibility of our electoral process.
    “For the media to carry out their responsibilities adequately, they must be knowledgeable about Nigeria’s political history with cognisance to the culture and values of the people.”
    They tasked relevant media regulatory agencies to apply appropriate sanctions on erring media organisations and practitioners.
    “Better working condition and remuneration of media practitioners should be provided to address the institutionalization of brown envelop syndrome that affects election coverage.”
    They called on Media organisations to, from time to time, organise lectures and seminars to further refresh and update the knowledge of reporters for effective coverage.
    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, representatives of Security agencies as well as members of the academia attended the event.

  • Facebook tightens paid ads rules ahead of EU elections

    Facebook tightens paid ads rules ahead of EU elections

    Facebook on Monday said it will beef up its rules and safeguards around political adverts to prevent foreign interference in elections, including those in Europe this year.

    The world’s largest social network has been under pressure from regulators and the public after 2018’s revelation that British consultancy Cambridge Analytica had improperly acquired data on millions of U.S. users to target election advertising.

    “We will require those wanting to run political and issue ads to be authorised and we will display a `paid for by’ disclaimer on those ads,” Facebook’s recently-appointed Head of Global Affairs, Nick Clegg, told a news conference.

    Clegg, a former British Deputy Prime Minister, hired by Facebook in October said the new tools to be launched in March aim to help protect the integrity of EU elections due to be held this spring.

    Facebook said the transparency tools for electoral ads would be expanded globally before the end of June.

    It added that the tools would be launched in India in February before its elections and in Ukraine and Israel before polls in both.

    “The tools are similar to those adopted for the U.S. mid-term elections,’’ Clegg said, adding that all political ads will be stored in a publicly searchable library for up to seven years.

    This will contain information such as the amount of money spent and the number of impressions displayed, who paid for them and the demographics of those who saw them, including age, gender and location.

    The new tools, which will be launched in March, will also cover `issue ads’ which do not explicitly back one candidate or political party but which focus on highly politicised topics like immigration.

    Facebook said it will also set up two new regional operations centres focused on monitoring election-related content in its Dublin and Singapore offices.

    Clegg, however, denied that Facebook sells users’ data.

    “Selling people’s information to advertisers would not only be the wrong thing to do, but it would also undermine the way we do business.

    “Because it would reduce the unique value of our service to advertisers,’’ he noted.

     

  • Elections: Buhari seeking other tribes’ votes but does not trust them for appointments – Obasanjo

    Elections: Buhari seeking other tribes’ votes but does not trust them for appointments – Obasanjo

    …says officials of President Buhari’s government will go to hell if they are exposed

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said President Muhammadu Buhari is quick to beg Nigerians from other tribes for votes for his reelection but does not trust them to be appointed into sensitive positions in his government.

    The former president also said those in the present administration will not only go to jail, they will go to hell if their corrupt acts are exposed.

    He also explained why he forgave an ex-Vice-President and Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in an interview with the BBC Yoruba monitored by our correspondents.

    Comparing Atiku with President Muhammadu Buhari, Obasanjo said his former deputy, though not a messiah, was far better than the incumbent President.

    He said, “What I am saying is that where we are today; our present situation, if you look at those who are there today and our boss (Buhari), I insist that Atiku will do better than them.

    “This is not a prophecy. Those in government today, if we expose them, all of them will enter hell; they will not only go to jail. They will go to hell. Whoever that God does not expose his sins to the public is the person whose secret is kept.”

    Obasanjo, however, said he was not privy to the plans of Atiku if he became Nigeria’s next President.

    He said, “I did not say he (Atiku) will behave like Jesus. I did not say he will behave like Prophet Muhammed, but he will do better, in fact twice better than what we have at present.”

    Obasanjo said the President’s performance in the area of the economy was worse than his assessment of his (Buhari) knowledge of the economy in 2015.

    The ex-President said Atiku was not an angel but he had atoned for his sins when he came to him in Abeokuta and sought forgiveness.

    He said, “Those who talked about what I said about Atiku, what about what I said about Buhari? His performance is even worse than what I thought.

    “I said Buhari did not know anything about economy. Have you not seen it? I said he did not know about diplomatic relations, have you not seen it?

    While accusing Buhari of nepotism, Obasanjo said the President gave priorities to his ethnic group when appointing people into sensitive positions.

    Obasanjo added, “Look at what is happening, the person that is leading us says he cannot appoint any other tribes into the posts he considers sensitive because he does not trust them. If he cannot trust my tribe and your tribe what is the benefit? And he still wants my tribe and your tribe to vote for him. So, he can ask us to vote for him but he cannot trust us to be appointed into sensitive positions. What is sauce for the goose is also sauce for the gander.

    “If you don’t trust us, how do you want me to trust you? If you trust me and I misbehave replace me with another person. But if only your maternal and paternal relatives are the only people you can appoint because they are the only people you can trust…

    “In Nigeria, where we have tribes numbering about 500, you now said you could not trust some people. That is what we are saying.”

    Obasanjo also berated Buhari’s economic policies, saying “Look at our economy, is it the way it should be? Our economy can never develop if foreign investors do not come to invest in the economy . But, as it is, they are not coming into the country and they will never come.”

    On the activities of Boko Haram, Obasanjo lamented that the insurgents were deadlier than they were before the present administration.

     

  • Elections: We have evidence Bauchi Govt arming thugs with assault rifles – Dogara

    ..Says not opposing Gov Abubakar because he isn’t originally from Bauchi state

    Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, has disclosed plans to unleash violence on the people of Bauchi State during the forthcoming elections, adding that there is evidence that the state government has procured assault rifles for that purpose.

    He also debunked insinuations that he is opposing Governor Mohammed Abduallahi Abubakar’s re-election because he is not originally from the state.

    Speaking at a press conference by a coalition of political parties and stakeholders United against the Bwuchi state government, Dogara said they had uncovered a government sanctioned plot to perpetuate violence on unprecedented scale to ensure that the present administration continues to rule over the affairs of the state against their will.

    “Now, we have heard, with some evidence, that violence on unprecedented scale is being planned in order to ensure that whether we like it or not in Bauchi State, they will maintain the status quo. Now, the reason why I must address this is because we are all aware, most of us, including journalists, of a young man who came out to polling booth with an assault rifle and the picture was captured, I can even name his name if you want. I can say one his name is Ilela, you can fill the gap.

    “Now, my worry is that this thing is being encouraged by the government of the state, all of you know that but the warning I will deliver is that they should desist from planning to kill our brothers and sisters, our uncles and our relations in Bauchi State. If someone does not have his own relations in the state and that is why he trying to promote violence, I want to say categorically here that he should desist from doing so. And some of our brothers that are conniving with him, by the time this crisis comes, his own sister is not going to be killed because he doesn’t have them, he doesn’t have uncles that will be killed, he doesn’t have brothers and sisters that will be killed and nephews and nieces that will be killed but we all have them.

    “But in spite of all those things, the resolve of all the people of Bauchi State, as has always been, is to cast their votes, to stay there till their votes are counted and until the results are known and by so doing, as we always done, the will of the people will prevail. Now, if anyone is killed, the chief promoter of this violence, we are delivering this warning, we will not only defeat him, we will ensure that we get a bus that may escort all that he has, maybe 10-seater bus out of the state so that we can live in peace that Bauchi is known for and make the kind of progress that is needed,” he stated.

    Hon Dogara explained that neither he, nor other people standing against the governor of the state have any grudge against him because he is not from Bauchi State originally, but because he has failed to bring development to the state, having failed in human capital development, promotion of healthcare, education, infrastructure, among others.

    “We are not fighting as some of them have alleged and rightly so, that the governor is not originally from Bauchi State, that is not the reason. We have welcomed so many people who have done good to this state and we will not stop but anyone who will bring lack of progress, will steal resources from Bauchi, will encourage underdevelopment of Bauchi, even if he is the original son of the soil, we will fight that person. And I want to say before you all here, before all the people of Bauchi, that even among them, we are working hard to make sure that when one of them emerges the governor and begins to do what Governor M.A is doing in Bauchi State, they will see what M.A is seeing. We will continue to try until we get the best that will take this state out of the dungeons. That is very, very important.

    “So, it doesn’t matter where you come from, provided you are not for the people of Bauchi State, some of us have vowed – there is nothing we are looking for from the governor, not appointments, contracts or anything- because God has brought us to the level where if we see that some is wrong, we should be able to say it and stand by it, to stand with the truth and not what is convenient or promote our interest or what will bring money to our pockets. We do not need it.

    We are fighting agents of underdevelopment and for the people of Bauchi State. We will not only defeat him, we will prevent anyone from stealing elections in this state and continue to perpetuate himself so that he can continue to play with the destiny of Bauchi State.”

    If you play with education, you are playing with your future. 1.3 million children out of school is too much a burden for us. If we continue like this, we are going to have millions in next few years so what do we do with them? They are unskilled, they are not trained, even if you build the industries, you cannot employ them because they do not have the training, they do not have the skills, so what do you do with them? And then, imagine if they are two to three million in the next 15 years, what do we do with them, throw them in wells? Kill them, because they will kill us. So, that is the grave danger that all of us as stakeholders face.”

    He warned the people of Bauchi not to joke with the future of their children by supporting the re-election of a governor that does not care that 1.3 million children are out of school, not because there is no funds to promote development of education and other areas, but out of greed and lack of concern for the growth of the state. The speaker noted that it is inevitable when youths are not trained, they will become a security threat in the future because of poverty and idleness, among other things.

    “Instead of sinking boreholes, improving our hospitals and schools, all they do is use them in producing billboards, banners and posters. Our youths who should be in school, about 1.3 of them are out of school, the only job they have is for them to guard these billboards and if you are not prepared to be a guard man or guard woman of these billbords, then there is no job for you. That is the unfortunate situation that this state that is blessed with talents, blessed with elites, has found itself.

    “Now, our governor made a very big mistake; the mistake is that he thought he could gather money accruing to the state and price all of us, including the elders here. He believes that all of us have price tags and I can assure that most of us have been priced already. If not because of the interest of Bauchi State, I can beat my chest and swear with whatever that we will not be seated here, all of us would have settled because the governor would rather pay Baba Waziri (Alhaji Bello Kirfi) he would rather pay me, pay some of us, than pay all these noisemakers or some of these our brothers who worship only their stomach, their God is their stomach. If that is not the case, there is no sane person in Bauchi State that will align with what is happening in this state. There is no progess virtually in all areas of human development and you talk about the local government system, it is dead.

    “We are not talking about 50 billion here, what of the money accruing to local government? What happened to it and it is hundreds of billions in the last 3 years plus. Where is the money in Bauchi State? So, when we talk, we talk with pains. You can now understand. Look at the progress that is being made in Gombe, states like Jigawa in those days, even in Adamawa, if you go to Yola, you can see some progress being made. Go to Plateau, in spite of crisis upon crisis in that state, look at the progress that is being made. What has happened to Bauchi State? Is it because we are cursed? So, what is the problem?

    “That is why all of us here have agreed to work together and even if it means producing one candidate in order to ensure that we send lack of progress and development out of Bauchi State, we are prepared to do that.”

  • Elections: CUPP accuses INEC of recruiting N-Power beneficiaries as adhoc staff

    Opposition political parties on the platform of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) on Sunday raised the alarm on alleged plan by the Independent National Electoral Commission to compromise the forthcoming general elections.

    They accused the electoral body of recruiting beneficiaries of the present administration’s N-Power programme as ad hoc staff for the general election.

    The coalition’s first national spokesperson, Imo Ugochinyere, made the allegation in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja.

    Ugochinyere said, “The President wants to use the beneficiaries of their failed N-Power programme to technically rig the election.

    “The INEC Chairman should ensure the credibility which he promised Nigerians by making sure that no N-Power beneficiary is recruited as ad hoc staff in the election because it is clear that these so-called beneficiaries are going to be used by President Buhari and his APC cohorts to rig the elections.”

    The coalition’s spokesman claimed that the present administration has failed Nigerians and it is clear to government officials that they will lose the election in a free and fair contest.

    This, he said, was why they are adopting all manner of ploys to rig the elections.

    He added that information available to the CUPP indicated that Mrs Amina Zakari, believed to be a relative of the President would be in charge of the recruitment and training of the wards/local government areas/state collation and returning officers.

    “We have just been informed from a very reliable source that Amina Zakari will be in charge of the recruitment and training of the Ward/LGA/State Collation and returning officers.

    “This is an obvious effort by Amina Zakari to influence and manipulate the conduct of the 2019 elections,” he said.

     

  • Buhari plotting with APC, INEC to rig 2019 election – Obasanjo

    Buhari plotting with APC, INEC to rig 2019 election – Obasanjo

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has accused President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress, APC of hiring collation officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC with an aim to alter results of the 2019 Presidential Election.

    Obasanjo’s comments were contained in a statement issued at a press conference in his Abeokuta residence on Sunday.

    The statement reads: “From available intelligence, we have heard of how Buhari and his party are going about his own self-succession project. They have started recruiting collation officers who are already awarding results based on their projects to actualise the perpetuation agenda in which the people will not matter and the votes will not count. It is the sole reason he has blatantly refused to sign the revised Electoral Reform Bill into law.

    His henchmen are working round the clock in cahoots with security and election officials to perfect their plan by computing results right from the ward to local government, state and national levels to allot him what will look like a landslide victory irrespective of the true situation for a candidate who might have carried out by proxy presidential debate and campaigns.
    The current plan is to drape the pre-determined results with a toga of credibility. It is also planned that violence of unimaginable proportion will be unleashed in high voting population areas across the country to precipitate re-run elections and where he will be returned duly elected after concentration of security officials as it happened in Osun State.

    We are monitoring them and we call on all democrats across the world to keep an eye on the unfolding anti-democratic agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari. This is the time for preventive measures to be taken otherwise Nigeria may be presented with a fait accompli with impunity and total disregard of all pleas.”

  • 2019 elections not do or die – Saraki cautions politicians

    …Says Senate has passed 257 bills

    President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, on Wednesday warned against making the upcoming general elections “a do-or-die affair” even as he insisted that Nigerians must be allowed to exercise their right to choose who will represent them at all levels

    Saraki who made the declaration while welcoming his colleagues from the Christmas and New Year break, according to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sanni Onogu, in Abuja, said all efforts must be made to ensure that the elections are free, fair and credible.

    He stated that the 8th Senate having passed a record 257 as at the end of December 2018, must not be distracted but should rather remain focused in order to finish strong.

    Saraki said: “This is an epoch making Senate that had, by the end of 2018, passed an unprecedented 257 bills, many of which are groundbreaking enough to change the game to meet the needs of Nigerians, with the potential to radically transform their lives for the better.

    “Nigerians expect us to continue in this vein, and we owe it to ourselves to meet their expectations. The legacy of the 8th Senate will be written in the legislative footprints that we leave, and the foundation that we lay.

    “Therefore, we must ensure that we continue to address issues affecting Nigerians, and concerning which they seek our intervention. Issues such as Unemployment, lack of economic opportunities, insecurity and so on – these still require the attention of the National Assembly.

    “Every action that we can take to address these issues through the legislative function, we must take; everything that we can do, we must do. We must ensure that we conclude work on all outstanding bills and petitions; and bring successful conclusion to all issues and investigations brought to the attention of this Senate.

    “The 2019 Elections are just over a month away, and the expectations of Nigerians as the dates draw near, is that we continue to serve as the representatives they voted for. In our work in this chamber, we are expected to rise about the partisan paradigm.

    “We should address our minds to, and always channel our efforts to how we can move our country forward. Nigerians want to see leaders who will not succumb to the partisan instinct in lawmaking.

    “They want to see leaders who will bring new ideas to bear on the challenges confronting the country. These include: Out-of-school children figures; rebuilding the North East; securing the North West; increasing Girl Child education; as well as how we navigate our way in the economy for higher productivity,” he stated.

    On the forthcoming elections, the President of the Senate said: “Looking ahead to the General Elections, I wish all contestants and aspirants luck in the forthcoming elections, including those here among us.

    “I enjoin us all to bear in mind that it should be a contest of ideas. We should eschew ad hominem approaches to political discourse, and communicate our ideas in a civil manner.

    “The issue of PVCs remains a concern. I call on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to give urgent attention to the matter. Issue has similarly been raised about people buying PVCs; this should also be looked into.

    “Let me take this opportunity to reiterate the need for INEC to bring relevant stakeholders together for a dialogue on a way forward to tackle these issues, ahead of the elections.

    “Everything must be done and every sacrifice must be made to ensure free and fair 2019 Elections. INEC is encouraged to engage the parties and be transparent in its decision making. It is important that the people are assured of the Commission’s resolve and commitment to credible elections.

    “To all Nigerians, I say this: we must have a country after the elections. We all still have to live among ourselves when the polls have closed and the elections are over. The rhetoric leading up to the elections must therefore be mindful of the need for moderation, decorum and respect.

    “To those of us who are contesting, let us remember that our biggest offer is to serve. Ultimately, the Nigerian people have a right to choose who will represent them at all levels. It is not a do or die affair. I encourage all to participate in the coming polls and I wish Nigerians a safe 2019 Election,” he said.