Television Nigerian

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in last Saturday’s presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has been urged to tow the path of ex-president Goodluck Jonathan and congratulate President Muhammadu Buhari.

This appeal was made by Two Million Women Rally for Democracy on Friday.

Mr Buhari of the All Progressive Congress (APC) was returned as president for a second-term by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

While the incumbent has continued to receive massive commendation over a free, fair and credible polls as well congratulatory messages from both local and international communities, the opposition has resolved to contest the people’s mandate.

In a statement by Convener, Mary Onuche, the Two Million Women Rally for Democracy has advised Mr Atiku to quit his on-going disruptive stance on the election.

According to the group, although the PDP candidate is within his constitutional right to seek redress, such disruptive and frightful atmosphere could lead to an a anarchy.

“ Fortunately for Nigeria, our democracy, though still young, has continued to evolve in ways that reassure us that things can only get better. One such leap is the development in 2015 when the then President Goodluck Jonathan called to congratulate the then winner of the presidential election, incumbent President Buhari, even before the votes’ tally was completed. That singular act of patriotism is today hailed as the benchmark of the level of statesmanship befitting of candidates in our elections. May God bless President Goodluck Jonathan, the hero of our modern democracy.

“ This has become a modern democratic culture in Nigeria for which former President Jonathan will continue to receive accolades. Had he acted contrary at that time, perhaps democratic growth in Nigeria might have been stunted or even truncated.

“ But thankfully he set the benchmark, a standard that we today expect from anyone that takes part in the presidential election.

“ We therefore call on Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to emulate the statesmanship of President Jonathan and quit his on-going disruptive stance on the election. There has been series of calls on him to call and congratulate President Buhari as the winner of the election, which would infer that he would by consequence give up any legal challenge of the election result. We are tempted to align with the first half of this demand that Atiku calls President Buhari to offer his congratulations but we will not suggest that he forfeits his right to seeking judicial redress. He is very free to approach the courts to ventilate his grievances.

“ What is unacceptable, however, is the adoption of positions and making of utterances that are being interpreted by his supporters and party members as a call to violence. We have become aware that his supporters are strategizing for violent protests that they are targeting to cause chaos nationwide and bring down the government. Some of Atiku’s lieutenants and political associates are subtly encouraging such protests through comments they have been making in the mainstream media and their social media accounts.

“ The hostile environment being created by Atiku’s stance has been made even tenser by his reported demands on President Buhari, made through the National Peace Committee. Such behaviour suggests an opposition that has transmuted into a dictatorship, one that is hell-bent on blackmailing the country to impose itself on the people when it has been clearly rejected at the polls. This is not acceptable at a time when Nigerians expect that anyone that aspired to govern the country would at the very least imbibe the spirit of sportsmanship championed by former President Jonathan.

“ Our democracy comes first before the personal fixations of any politician. We insist that the peace accord signed by political parties and their candidates, including Atiku must be respected .

“ Nigeria truly deserves peace and stability at this point in time, which is why we are holding this “Two Million Woman Rally for Democracy in Nigeria” to demand for national stability and peace in Nigeria.

“ While we remain apolitical, we are encouraged by the assessment of international election observation missions, which in-spite of their earlier tilt in favour of Atiku prior to the election, have come out to declare that the conduct and the outcome of the poll was satisfactory to them. We suggest that Atiku takes time to slow down and listen to his foreign allies who have now concluded that even the Parallel Vote Tabulation they used as control showed that the PDP candidate was fairly defeated. “

My Dear Nigerians,

First and foremost, I give thanks to Almighty God Who has spared our lives to witness another victory for Nigerian democracy and victory for our party APC.

2. I thank the millions of Nigerians who voted to re-elect me as your president for the next four years. I am deeply humbled and profoundly grateful to you for judging me worthy of continuing to serve you and for your peaceful conduct.

3. In particular, I would like to thank Asiwaju Bola Tinubu for his masterful leadership as Co-chair of the Campaign Council. I would like to also thank the Party Chairman Adams Oshiomhole, the Director General of the Campaign Council Rotimi Amaechi, all members of the Presidential Campaign Council and other various Support Groups.

4. My grateful thanks to all those who contributed to the logistical expenses of the campaign in such a vast country like Nigeria.

5. I also thank the millions of volunteers, self-appointed overseers, canvassers, agents, escorts and sentries who sacrificed so much of their time and resources to ensure the success of these elections. I do not have the words adequate to thank them.

6. Although Saturday’s elections were relatively peaceful, troublemakers in a handful of states attempted to disrupt an otherwise orderly process. Security agencies will bring to justice all those arrested in the process.

7. I am very sad at the grievous loss of lives during these elections. Security agencies will step up their efforts to protect voters in the forthcoming State elections.

8. I would like to commend our security agencies, as severely overstretched as they are, for handling the difficult task of securing the country during the election period.

9. I will like to make a special appeal to my supporters not to gloat or humiliate the opposition. Victory is enough reward for your efforts.

10. We give thanks also to our Domestic and International observers for contributing to the success of our elections and for their interest in our country and our developing democracy.

11. The new Administration will intensify its efforts in Security, Restructuring the Economy and Fighting Corruption. We have laid down the foundation and we are committed to seeing matters to the end. We will strive to strengthen our unity and inclusiveness so that no section or group will feel left behind or left out.

12. I thank you for your support and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria

Some Independent Foreign Observers have commended the Nigerian Military for their professional conduct during the Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections.

They gave this commendation via a statement made available to journalists on Tuesday.

The observers in the statement signed by Bill Campbell added that having examined the roles of stakeholders in the electoral processes found out that military played a commendable roles in the Saturday’s elections.

They said, “The Independent Foreign Observers is an amalgamation of organizations drawn from all over the world to monitor the general elections in Nigeria on the invitation of a select Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Nigeria. Consequently, the head of the mission, Bill Campbell deployed election observers around Nigeria with a view to ascertaining the credibility of the elections and the role of the various actors in the electoral process.

The Independent Foreign Observers was headed by Bill Campbell, a diplomat, and conflict resolution expert who has garnered years of experience in election monitoring in African countries. Bill Campbell’s experience spans 6 continents and over 50 countries, where he has experienced dozens of elections and other less conventional changes of government. He has braved tsunamis, typhoons, earthquakes, political revolutions and long treks on public transportation, to learn about and observe democracy in action. A graduate of NYU, Bill has been the President of his Rotary Club, constantly looking for ways to serve communities big and small. He brought his wealth of experience to bear in the monitoring of the general elections in Nigeria.

As part of its mandate to monitor and report the credibility of the general elections in Nigeria, the Independent Foreign Observers undertook a systematic survey of the dynamics inherent in the Nigeria society and consequently designed a template that accommodated the religious and ethnic sensitivity of the Nigerian people in various states of the federation with a view to getting the objective responses from the electorate as the case may be. The essence was to help observe the dynamics, make recommendations and commendations where necessary based on the competence of the team.

It was observed amongst other things some section of the country whipped up ethnic sentiments which could undermine the electoral process.

Some segment of the populace also played the religious card before the electorates in an attempt to induce or coerce votes for their political parties.

Outcome:

Consequently, there was palpable tension in the polity as regards the security of lives and properties.

The government, therefore, deployed a mix of security agencies to maintain the sanctity of the electoral process as well as maintaining law and order throughout the polls.

Election Issues

Elections were conducted in the 36 states in Nigeria including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Our team of observers were on ground to monitor the polls and turned in a detailed report on what they observed in the various states that they were deployed.

The Independent Foreign Observers worked in active collaboration with local NGOs in the various states, and this unique collaboration made the election monitoring exercise seamless and worthwhile.

Voters Turnout:

It was observed that there was a huge voters’ turnout in parts of the country especially in Northern Nigeria. (North East and North West)

The voters defied the harsh climatic conditions to come out in their numbers to cast their votes at the various polling units

The South Eastern States also witnessed a large turnout of voters (Enugu, Anambra, Ebonyi, and Imo)

The South Western States didn’t experience as much voters’ turnout as in other parts of the country. This was primarily due to a palpable tension because political analysts had classified the South Western states as the battleground for candidates of both parties.

The South-South states of Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River also witnessed a large turnout of voters.

The Elections:

From monitoring the elections, it was observed that the electoral process was able to maintain its credibility by the combined efforts of the security agencies led by the Nigerian Army that ensured that incidences of ballot box snatching and other electoral vices were curtailed.

Voters exercised their electoral franchise without fear especially in the northern part of the country. Our team of observers noted that in the Northern parts of the country, which hitherto was known for underage voting did not experience cases of underage voting. Incidences of vote buying were also prevalent in most parts of the South-South and South Eastern States.

The outbreak of Violence:

Our team of observers witnessed pockets of violence in some parts of the country occasioned by attempts by party agents to snatch ballot boxes. This resulted in an open confrontation with the security agencies who showed resilience in the face of provocation.

Rivers States witnessed the highest level of violence and arms bearing by political thugs that led to the death of an INEC official, an officer of the Nigerian Army and scores of people.

The Election and the Nigerian Military:

Our team of observers noted the contributions of the Nigeria Army in maintaining the credibility of the electoral process. The Nigeria Army was able to provide security of lives and properties throughout the election process.

In the North Eastern states of Yobe and Borno, the Nigeria Army provided watertight security, and this accounted for the large turnout of voters in the region.

In the fringes where it was expected that there would be security lapses, the Nigeria Army rose to the occasion as there were no recorded cases of security lapses by our team of observers.

Conclusion:

The Independent Foreign Observers salutes the resilience and courage of the Nigerian people through the duration of the elections.

The elections were conducted in an atmosphere of peace brought about by the combined efforts of the security agencies.

Cases of electoral violence were minimal but for a few states

The Nigerian Army rose to the occasion by deploying men and resources around the country to protect the credibility of the process

The Nigeria Army conducted itself professionally and within the ambit of the law even in instances of provocation as experienced in some states.

Commendation:

The Independent Foreign Observers particularly singles out the Nigeria Army for praise in its conduct during the elections. We noted a display of a high sense of professionalism even in the face of provocation by agents of political parties.

The Independent Foreign Observers also commends the leadership of the Nigeria Army for the high-level coordination of its troops across the country. The Independent also charges the Nigeria Army to deploy the same strategy in the forthcoming gubernatorial and states houses of assembly elections.