Tony John, Port Harcourt
The United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Stuart Symington, has said the the forthcoming elections would define the future of the country and urged stakeholders to promote credible and peaceful elections.
Symington told newsmen, yesterday, after meeting with the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, at the Government House, Port Harcourt, that all institutions of government must do what is right.
He said: “All of the institutions of government must do what is right. Election is not a matter of life and death.
“It is a matter of defining the future of Nigeria. There must be free, fair and credible elections.”
The envoy said the idea of a free people with the ability to make free decisions remains the most important idea in the world.
“I am quite confident that on election day, the sons and daughters of the powerful would not be out there causing violence,” he added.
Symington urged the people to have the courage to reject any call for them to engage in violence during the elections.
On the campaigns, he charged the electorate to always ask their political leaders to outline ways through which they would actualise their promises to them.
He said President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Vice President and presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, believe in the votes of the people making a difference during elections.