Former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar has said that Nigerians must ensure that the post-election violence of 2011 must not repeat itself; there must be peace and security during these polls.
Abubakar who spoke as the Chairman of National Peace Committee on 2015 Elections met with the Service Chiefs and the Inspector-General of Police in Abuja on Monday.
He said “Any Nigerian who loves this country must preach peace. There is apprehension and there is no need for that. Nigerians, please, I beg you, learn from the former mistakes. We must ensure that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past.
“We must ensure that the February elections are peaceful and secure.
“… I am very happy that the contestants in the forthcoming Presidential elections have signed a peace accord and I expect that they follow up in keeping up with this agreement.
“We all have roles to play. The media has a role to play in ensuring that they preach peace. People tend to believe in what they read. Avoid sensational stories and help preach peace to our people.”
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosun who was also present at the meeting said “We have commenced the airlift of materials needed for the elections starting from Abuja.
“We have a lot of unmanned airports in Nigeria, we have deployed our men to man these airfields and should there be saboteurs, it will be difficult for them to bring in illegal materials into the country.”
The Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abba added that “The support to civil authorities by the military is provided in the constitution. The military has the responsibility to support civil authorities in providing security.
“That is why they need to strengthen the civil security agencies during the election. In some of the areas identified as flash points, we will invite the military to assist. But it will not include the polling boots. The police will continue to conduct its role in ensuring there is law and order in the country.”
Meanwhile the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan and the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III while speaking at a press briefing in Abuja under the aegis of Inter-Faith Initiative for Peace also cautioned against electoral violence.
The sultan said, “We all know that religious leaders are the conscience of the nation. Our desire to come out and speak at this time should be well passed to every nook and cranny of this country. We are all human beings first before we are called Muslims and Christians. Both religions appreciate the sanctity of life. We have always condemned the activity of insurgents. We will continue to do that until there is no more insurgency in the country.
“We are really worried at what is happening. As religious leaders, we cannot keep quiet. We cannot pretend and say everything is okay. Everything is not okay. We are worried at what we are seeing in various campaigns and rallies. We deem it fit to join our voices in calling on everyone to ensure that there is peace. We must ensure and protect this peace.
“We must see the elections as one of the challenges that will strengthen us. It should make us better. We call on all Nigerians to come together and ensure that we have free, fair and transparent elections. We call on the INEC to have the fear of God. We want to see a situation where when the results are announced, the loser will embrace the winner. It is not going to be a winner-takes- it-all approach.”
Onaiyekan called on the candidates to honour the Abuja Peace Accord, he said “We call on all contestants to respect both the letter and the spirit of the Abuja Accord which they have signed in the presence of God and men. They should play to the rule. Let the people decide in free and fair elections.”