| President Buhari(R) in hand shake with opposition party Atiku Abubakar as they participates at the signing of 2nd National Peace Accord in Abuja on 13th Feb 2019 |
A group, made up of prominent Nigerians whose membership cuts across the globe, has appealed to the United Kingdom, the United States of America and the European Union to to ensure that the Nigerian elections are conducted peacefully and creditably.
Known as ‘We The People of Nigeria,’ the group which is led by a prominent lawyer, Dr Lloyd Ukwu, made the plea after its three-member delegation made presentations to key functionaries of the European Union in Brussels, Washington and London.
The group asked the world powers to be fully involved in ensuring that the Nigerian elections, which had been rescheduled by a week, was conducted in a free, fair and credible atmosphere.
A statement on Sunday by Ukwu, who is the founder and head of delegation to the countries, said during the visit, the team met and discussed with the US State Department, US Congress and the Senate of the US, as well as delivered a letter to the US Ambassador to the United Nations, Mr Jonathan Cohen, in New York to ensure the success of the Nigerian elections.
In the three countries visited, Ukwu said the delegation asked their hosts to ensure that the elections were not rigged by any of the parties and that no violence was visited on anyone.
He also asked the countries to impress upon President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party to work towards elections that were fair and violence free.
The statement read in part, “We ask that efforts are undertaken to call upon both principal candidates and parties — incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari of the APC and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the PDP — to work toward elections that are fair and free from corruption and violence.
“Ominous signs exist in Nigeria that suggest the upcoming Nigerian presidential election may be marred by corruption, vote buying, intimidation of the electorate and violence to the detriment of the Nigerian people and the security of the West African sub-region.
“It is essential to the security of Nigeria and the African Continent that the integrity of Nigeria’s presidential electoral processes is preserved. It is mandatory that an unambiguous message is sent that any violence or electoral misconduct in the Nigerian presidential election will not be discountenanced by the US, Great Britain and the European Union countries. The recent events in Venezuela are at risk of being repeated in Nigeria by the end of this month unless something is done.”