By Ariwodo praise izuchukwu
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has called on all political actors and stakeholders to work towards deepening the nation’s democracy by prioritising peace and security in the Edo governorship election on Saturday.
Jonathan, in a statement by his Media Adviser, Ikechukwu Eze, in Abuja, urged politicians to pursue their interests within the confines of the law and refrain from activities that could undermine the peace and stability of the state.
“It is encouraging that civil rule has endured in the Fourth Republic for 25 years but we should remind our people that democracy loses its value when citizens cannot exercise their political choices in a free and fair atmosphere,” he said.
Jonathan also charged state institutions involved in managing the process of the election to maintain neutrality, to create a level playing field and to ensure free and fair election.
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He said that the Edo election placed a moral burden on state agencies especially the police and the Independent National Electoral Commission to rise to their constitutional responsibilities as independent arbiters in Nigeria democratic process.
He said, “Security agencies must conduct themselves in optimal neutrality and desist from actions that could alter the setting for a level-playing field and compromise the credibility of the electoral process.
Meanwhile, Olaoyoku, however, suggested that unless Tinubu sought the help of experienced political administrators like Jonathan, whose experience in governance would count, the masses would continue to wallow under the yoke of hardship.
“Again, they can beg Dr Goodluck Jonathan for help on how he was able to retain the rate of the naira to the dollar at N200 before the APC came on board. Let them go and beg him” he added.
But the ruling All Progressives Congress kicked, describing the NNPP secretary as an armchair analyst who was probably speaking from the point of ignorance.
Reacting via a phone interview, the National Publicity Director of the APC, Bala Ibrahim, disclosed that the opposition party could do well by urging its only governor in Kano to consider raising the topic at the next National Council of State meeting, where Jonathan would also be in attendance.
He stated, “If the NNPP had a solution to the problem, it would have been in power. They don’t have the foresight. Even Nigerians know and don’t have the confidence that they have the foresight to address the economic challenges of the country. The NNPP is speaking from the comfort of the opposition and out of the misunderstanding of the challenges facing Nigeria.
“The NNPP we are talking about has only one state in the federation, which is Kano, and its governor is a member of the National Council of State, just like former President Goodluck Jonathan. The council is known to discuss the problems of the state periodically.
“So if the NNPP is speaking out of sincerity and patriotism, let the Kano governor advance this suggestion at the Council of State where Jonathan is seated so the problem can be addressed there in the interest of the nation. He shouldn’t be speaking from the comfort of a tea party and just be giving suggestions that are not in tandem with common sense.”
