POLITICS
Unity: PGF DG Preaches Ethnic Tolerance to Foster Peace
Dr Salihu Lukman, the Director-General, Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), has called for ethnic tolerance to foster peaceful co-existence and national unity.
Lukman, in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, noted that the level of intolerance in the country on account of ethnic background was alarming.
He attributed the source of such intolerance on compromising issues of justice in virtually every part affecting every section of the country.
He said in the circumstance we found ourselves as a nation, we should begin to campaign that any political leader who overtly or covertly defended criminality must be regarded as either a criminal or one with intention to commit crime.
He wondered why any form of defense of criminality was allowed to dominate political debate and contest in the country.
Lukman noted that given that ethnic groups were being tagged as criminals, there was all manner of political mobilisation based on ethnic undertone.
This, he said, would create problems as we move towards 2023, adding that political parties should consider new approaches that should challenge political leaders to become leaders and champions of peaceful co-existence.
He, however, noted that with all the attacks against the All Progressives Congress (APC), it had the best potential of coming up with initiatives that could push political leaders to work for peaceful co-existence in the country.
According to Lukman, this is because apart from being a ruling party with the responsibility of providing political leadership, it is also a party that has committed itself to bringing about political change in the country.
“As a member of the APC, I am always proud to acknowledge the fact that our leaders don’t shy away from recognising problems,” he said.
He noted that in the current circumstance, recognising the problem should revive the commitment of political leaders for the unity of the country founded on peaceful co-existence based on justice.
He added that part of the advantage the APC presently had over other political parties was the fact that it is in the process of reconstituting its leadership at all levels.
Lukman advised that for the party to be able to exercise this advantage and gain the appeal of Nigerians, it should consider taking necessary steps to ensure that ethnic bullies and warlords were disqualified from emerging as leaders at all levels.
He further added that only candidates with proven commitments to peaceful existence as a nation should be qualified to hold party positions at all levels going forward.
The PGF DG, however, noted that this may not happen if meetings were not taking place through which positions of all groups and sections of the country could be considered.
“We must therefore appeal to our leaders to prioritise the need for meetings and ensure that when meetings hold honest and open debates take place.
“Without debating and taking all the necessary steps to produce leaders in our parties who are committed to the unity of the country founded on peaceful co-existence based on justice,
“it is almost predictable that candidates for elections would largely be ethnic bullies and warlords. Once candidates are ethnic bullies and warlords, political competition will continue to be characterised by violence,” he said.
He said there was need to appeal to political leaders to take steps required to move the country forward away from politics of ethnic hatred.
He further added that instead of hating each other, political leaders should take steps to begin to push to love each other.
Lukman stressed that the need to guarantee justice at all times, irrespective of who was affected was about the only route for peaceful co-existence in the country.
He added that once that was compromised, the foundation of our democracy would be eroded.
According to him, the burden facing our political leaders is to begin to take every necessary step to move our people and our nation from all parts of the country towards ensuring fairness in every part of the country.
He added that the basis of fairness must be such that to love ourselves, we must love others.
He stressed that political leaders should show love to themselves by ensuring fair conduct of all citizens as a basis for citizens’ love to leaders and the country. (NAN)
From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
A Youth Advocate on grassroots advancement, Andrew Ochika has urged the newly elected chairman of Dekina Local Government Area in Kogi state, John Ura Ikani to key into Governor Usman Ododo’s development agenda.Ochika in an interview with Our Correspondent, said that the call has become necessary to boost accelerated development down to rural communities in Dekina Local Government Area.
Ochika, a member of Okoyi Community Youth Development, lamented lack of basic infrastructure in Dekina Local Government Area saying that the new Chairman has all it takes to deliver on his mandate and correct the anomaly. The Youth Advocate, who described the overwhelming victory of the Chairman in the just concluded council polls as well deserved, called on him to strive to justify the confidence reposed in him through the provision of democracy dividends to all communities in the local government area.According to him “the new Chairman, John Ura Ikani was a tested leader who performed excellently as Care-taker Chairman. I believe that now that he is elected as executive chairman, he has the capacity to deliver better than before”He urged the Chairman to sustain his tempo in grading of rural roads, provision of health facilities, rural electrification and drilling of bore-holes to ensure potable water supply in the area.He called on the people of the local government to cooperate with the Chairman in his efforts to uplift their living standards.
Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, National Chairman, Independence National Electoral Commission (INEC) has appealed to political parties, candidates, and supporters to maintain peace during the governorship election in Ondo State.
Yakubu made the appeal while monitoring the 2024 Ondo State Mock Accreditation held on Wednesday across the three senatorial district of the state.
Report says that INEC is scheduled to conduct the Ondo State Governorship Election on Nov.
16, 2024, with 18 political parties to participate in the election.The INEC chairman, who said that the exercise was part of the commission’s preparation, said the maintenance of peace would enable the commission to conduct a free and fair election.
He also said that the mock accreditation was to further test the functionality of their system.
“In the last election, our machines performed optimally but we can not take that for granted.
“We will ensure that all the polling units open on time so that voters will not come and wait for INEC officials and materials.
“And we have tested the integrity of the machines, it is not the matter of early deployment, but also early accreditation.
“We are doing our best as an electoral commission and others should also do their best, particularly political parties and their candidates.
“I want to appeal to political parties, candidates and their supporters to ensure that they maintain the peace that will enable us to deploy and conclude the process in good time.
“And also to announce the candidate people of Ondo State are choosing as their governor on Saturday,” he said.
Earlier, Mr Usman Isiaka Taiwo, who was accredited at the Ijapo High School, Akure, Ward 4 Unit 41, applauded INEC for the conduct.
“There is no delay in the exercise, and I will come along with my family to cast our votes for the candidate of our choice,” he said.
Also, Mrs Adebimpe Bankole, who was accredited at Alagbaka Primary School, Akure, Ward 5 Unit 18, scored INEC 80 per cent for the mock exercise.
“I am satisfied with the process because I did not waste any time before I did my accreditation.
“I would have given them 100 per cent but I can’t, rather I will give them 80 per cent because they have done well.
“By Gods grace, I will come out on Saturday, Nov. 16 for the election proper to cast my vote,” she said.
The INEC national chairman visited Ijapo High School, Akure, Ward 4 Unit 41; and Alagbaka Primary School, Akure, Ward 5 Unit 18.
Ward 10 Unit 12 in Owena, and Ward 10, Unit 1, Aiyetoro/ Owena, Idanre Local Government Area in Ondo Central Senatorial District, were also visited.
Yakubu also visited two Local Government Area offices of the commission including Ile-Oluji/ Okeigbo in Ondo North Senatorial District. (NAN)
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that the claim by Atiku Abubakar, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, that he did not lose the election but stolen, was most comical.
Mr Felix Morka, the party’s National Publicity Secretary said this, in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, while reacting to comments made by Abubakar on the outcome of the election.
Abubakar, also a former vice president, on his X handle, stated that he did not lose the 2023 presidential election, claiming the election was stolen from him.
Morka, in his reaction, described Abubakar as Africa’s most infamous presidential election loser, noting that since serving as vice-president, he had lost election to every elected president.
“Six times in the last 17 years, Nigerians have declared their verdict of untrust and lack of sportsmanship on Abubakar’s presidential candidacy, and roundly rejected him at the polls.
“Abubakar’s long record of electoral defeat was serially certified by Nigeria’s highest courts, sealing his rejection by the electorate with judicial and constitutional finality.
“However, a clearly unabashed Abubakar continues to lay a bogus claim that he did not lose the 2023 presidential election. That is beyond comical,” the APC spokesman said.
He said that this was so as the former vice president probably believed that he was cheated out of all previous five presidential elections that he also lost.
Morka added that Abubakar’s inability to come to terms with the reality of his rejection cuts an ominous portrait of extreme and disturbing political desperation.
He added that Nigeria’s intelligent and discerning electorate would not act against their best interest by electing Abubakar into office.
According to Morka, the former vice president is a central and recurrent player in some of our country’s most vile roll call of corruption scandals perpetrated by the PDP administrations.
“He was the vice president in the government that created crooked and viscerally corrupt petrol subsidy hydra-headed dragon that has crippled our country’s economy,
“And laid the foundation for the endemic corruption and inefficiency that have undermined our power sector through the years.
“His desperation to be president can only be understood in the context of his determination to complete the full subversion of Nigeria’s economic life from where he left off as vice president.
“Nigerians will not entrust their country to someone who puts his selfish interest, and the interest of his cronies over and above the national interest,” Morka said.
He added that having demystified himself with his recent release of what he would have done differently if he was the president, showed that he had nothing to offer Nigerians.
Morka added that from Abubakar’s release, it was obvious that all he would had offered was his stale, tired, tested and failed economic ideas that were at polar relevance to the current existential economic challenges facing the country.
He added that the former vice president had a chance to execute whatever economic ideas he may have ever had, but failed to do so.
He further added that as vice president, Abubakar also failed to get his party, the PDP, to do so in all of its 16 years government.
“Abubakar thinks himself capable of fixing Nigeria but cannot fix the rot and hopeless dysfunction in his PDP,” the APC spokesman said.
He urged Nigerians to be steadfast in support of the APC-administration of President Bola Tinubu and valiant efforts to restore vitality to our economy for the good of all Nigerians.(NAN)
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