- Votes must count – Diri
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has cautioned politicians against do-or-die politics ahead of the governorship and House of Assembly elections on March 18.
He stated this when he paid a condolence visit to Governor Douye Diri over the loss of his father, Pa Abraham Diri at his country home in Sampou, Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of the state.
Dr Jonathan, who noted that politics should be about service and not about self urged politicians to wait for God’s time to get into leadership positions.
He stated that in a democracy, the people play a critical role and wondered why those who aspire to lead want to force themselves on the people.
Dr Jonathan also advised people of the state to conduct themselves in a peaceful manner during the House of Assembly elections.
He said: “Leadership is not by force. It is about serving the people. So, if you want to lead the people, you cannot kill them before you lead them.
“In Bayelsa, the challenges will be minimal because we do not have a governorship election on Saturday. But I urge our people to conduct themselves well,” he said.
Speaking on the late Pa Diri, Jonathan said the death of a parent was painful but urged the family of the departed to take solace in the worthy legacies he left.
Diri in his response described the visit of the former president as special, saying his family and community were strengthened by his presence.
He traced his relationship with Dr Jonathan, noting that his rise to the position of president was divine, saying the people of the state were proud of him and his achievements in politics.
Meanwhile, Diri has commended Bayelsans for voting for the PDP, stressing that Bayelsa state is committed to ensuring the votes of the people count.
“In Bayelsa, we are committed to entrenching a culture of voting without intimidation. Elections are about ballots, not bullets. Citizens must not only be allowed to vote but their votes must be counted and their votes must count. Thankfully, this was our experience in all the 2,244 polling units in the 105 wards across the eight local government areas, where no single incident of death was recorded.
While noting that the votes of Bayelsans for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) were a referendum on the performance of his administration in the last three years, he drew attention to the logistical challenges of the Independent National Electoral Commission( INEC) and called for improvement.
“It is crucial to draw attention to logistical challenges and a significant lapse in the performance of the BAVS machines in which the faith of Nigerians for a new paradigm shift in the credible election is anchored. The major shift in our electoral process is the use of technology for electronic transmission of results from polling units to eliminate such vulnerabilities as fraudulent adjustment of figures at collation centres, which used to be a major bane of our electoral process. This, unfortunately, has not been adhered to, in the main.”