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From Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja and Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa, Tony John, Port Harcourt
As the nation goes to the polls for the governorship and state assembly elections, the National Peace Committee (NPC) and former president, Goodluck Jonathan have called for calm and cautioned politicians against do-or-die politics.
NPC chairman, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, in a statement, said its call was necessitated by the open threats of intimidation and violence by certain elements within the society using ethnic and religious labels to achieve their intentions of voter suppression.
The former head of state who stated that the Committee was following up with the same appeal it made ahead of the presidential elections noted that the NPC understood and appreciated that these were trying times for the country and its citizens.
“Presidential elections have come and gone. However, problems have arisen from the process of the collation, transmission and release of the final results. This has generated the crisis that we now find ourselves. Notwithstanding all this, we are pleased and encouraged by the matured attitudes of the candidates who contested the presidential elections.
“We are encouraged by the restraint they have exhibited and their commitment to seek justice through due process. This is in keeping with the spirit of the Peace Accord. We, therefore, appeal to the supporters of all parties and our citizens to please follow the good example of their leaders and remain law abiding till the process is brought to an end.
“This weekend, on March18, 2023, the second round of elections for the governorship and state assemblies will be conducted. We are worried by the open threats of intimidation and violence by certain elements within the society who are using ethnic and religious labels to achieve their intentions of voter suppression.
“We appeal to the security and law enforcement agencies to remain alert and to bring to book, anyone, no matter their position in society, who poses a threat to the peaceful conduct of the elections. We encourage all citizens not to be intimidated and to go out and exercise their God given rights.”
He prayed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would do everything possible to ensure the elections are peaceful so as to gain the confidence of citizens.
In the same vein, Jonathan cautioned politicians against do-or-die politics.
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 aspiring to lead wanted to force themselves on the people.
The former president, who spoke during a condolence visit to Governor Douye Diri over the loss of his father, Pa Abraham Diri in Sampou, Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area, advised people of the state to conduct themselves in a peaceful manner during the House of Assembly elections.
“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.
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.
Meanwhile Diri has commended Bayelsans for voting for the PDP, stressing that Bayelsa state is committed to ensure 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 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was 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.
