politics and nigeria development

ROM TAIWO AMODU, ABUJA

THE NATION IN UNITY

Peoples Democrat­ic Party (PDP) has called on all political parties in the country and other relevant stakeholders in the electoral process to relegate all narrow group interests and join hands with the Independent Na­tional Electoral Commis­sion (INEC) to guarantee the success of the 2015 general elections.
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Olisa Metuh, in a statement at the weekend, said all parties must come together in the interest of the nation and ensure that measures that create the envi­ronment for credible, free and fair elections were firmly put in place.
Metuh said: “The respon­sibility of building a united, strong and prosperous nation anchored on democratic prin­ciples lies on all of us collec­tively.
“We, therefore, charge all political parties, other relevant groups and all stakeholders in the electoral process to jettison all personal/group interests and put that of our nation and its people ahead of all.
“The future of our nation is determined by what we do or say at this point in time. We must, therefore, resolve to work together as patriotic citi­zens and join hands with INEC and relevant institutions of government to ensure credible, free and fair elections devoid of rancour and avoidable dis­agreements.
“At this point, what should be paramount is the wellbeing of our people and the survival of our dear nation and its de­mocracy. We must, therefore, close ranks as brothers and sisters and resist the machina­tions of enemies of our coun­try who do not wish us well.

“In this regard, we must re­direct our political discourse and energies to productive is­sues that promote national de­velopment, reinforce our unity and engender mutual under­standing and peaceful co-exis­tence of our people. It is only through this that we can create the enabling environment for peaceful general elections and guarantee the overall stability of our country.
“Indeed, we cannot afford to fail our citizens at this time of our national life. We must work hard to continue to en­sure that the environment that contributed to the successes we have recorded is adequate­ly maintained and enhanced.”
The party also called on INEC to gird it loins and appreciate the fact that it is “saddled with an enormous responsibility and that “Ni­gerians expect nothing less than a transparent electoral process.”
Urging INEC to work harder and effectively use the period provided by the shift in the dates of elections to perfect all arrangements for credible election, the PDP said the commission should understand that observations by stakeholders were not in­tended to castigate, weaken or destroy the electoral process but to assist in deepening de­mocracy so that at the end of the day, Nigerians would be the ultimate winners.