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Igbo,Northern leaders condemn
political violence,harassment
of
opposition
By Chuks Ehirim Newsdiaryonline Fri Mar
25,2011
Related:Ciroma group meets Igbo forum:Read their
communique
With the much awaited 2011 general elections a few days
away,political leaders of Igbo and Northern exractions have
expressed concern over the increasing level of political
violence in the country
The politicians who operate under the aegis of Igbo Political
Forum[IPF] and Northern Political Leaders Forum[NPLF] met in
Abuja Thursday, to examine the political climate in Nigeria,
preparatory to the April polls in the country and at the end
of their delibrations,the two groups came out with a damning
condemnation of the state of the nation.
In a communique issued after their meeting and signed by Alhaji
Magaji Dambata and Dr Udenta O. Udenta,Chairman and Secretary of
the Communique Committee, respectively, the groups lamented the
return of the culture of impunity and intolerance in the
nation's body politic. ''We condemn, unequivocally, the culture
of impunity, high level of intolerance, palpable tension and
escalating violence which has come to characterize the campaigns
for the general elections of April 2011''.
They also had hash words for those who have the pentchant for
harranging the opposition ''We
condemn, in specific terms, the intimidatio,n, harassment and
muzzling of political opponents by incumbent governments at all
levels and the denial of right of assembly to opposition
parties, including the denial of space for them to conduct their
political campaigns. This ugly trend, if not arrested, is
capable of derailing our democracy and of creating alternative
means for the expression of dissent and discontent'', the
commmunique said.
They added that. ''We call on the nation's security agencies to
refrain from open partisanship in their approach to
security-related matters and return to their traditional role of
protecting the lives, properties, freedoms and rights of all
citizens without bias. A situation whereby agencies of state
allow themselves to be used by the powers that be against
ordinary citizens and political opponents is not conducive to
the unity, peace and stability of the country. The upheaval now
taking place in the Middle East and North Africa is directly
attributable to the long period of political repression in that
region and the highhandedness of the security agencies that
support those repressive regimes. We call on the agencies of
state to draw lessons from history or risk being its victim''
Though the two groups
hailed the preparations by the Independent National Electoral
Commision [INEC] for the conduct of the April polls, they said
that''after a thorough examination of the performance of INEC
with regard to the preparations for the general elections, we
noted that the Commission is trying to put in place the
processes and proper procedures for free, fair, transparent and
credible elections''.
''We noted, particularly, an improved voter registration
exercise, the display of voters register and the intensity of
public enlightenment. We, however, observed that INEC, political
parties and the judiciary have been unable to resolve the issue
of candidates in some constituencies. This is a recipe for
chaos. We called on all stakeholders - political parties, the
government in power, the judiciary, civil society organisations
and the general public to play their part to ensure that the
general elections do not follow the path of the previous
elections as the conduct of free and fair election is not the
responsibility of INEC alone''.
''We also called on all Nigerians to come out en-masse and vote
in April and do everything within their power to defend their
votes''.
On the burning issue of zoning, the political leaders had this
to say ''We reaffirmed our commitment to the principle and
practice of zoning and rotation of key political offices in
Nigeria, which we consider necessary and sacrosanct for the
unity, peace and stability of Nigeria. We have therefore
resolved to support any candidate who share our commitment to
these principles and who is committed to practicing it. Such a
candidate must, as a precondition, exhibit other qualities that
a conducive to good governance - honesty, integrity,
competence, sound policy direction and requisite experience''.
''It is our conviction that the tension, violence, desperation
for power, and the culture of impunity and intolerance that have
thus far characterized the electioneering campaigns are directly
related to the culture of dishonesty that has crept into our
political life as well as consequences of the attempt by certain
political elite to jettison enduring principles for national
political consensus building and political inclusiveness. Those
who come to equity, it is said, must come with clean hands''.
''We re-affirmed our position on term limits for key political
offices, particularly the office of the President, to the extent
that any occupier of the office in 2011 will not seek
re-election in 2015, at which time the position will be rotated
to another zone''.
''We also re-affirmed the imperative of national integration,
not only at the level of political inclusiveness in every sphere
of our plural society in the decision making process, but also
the evolution of a well designed and carefully thought out
Development Blueprint and Strategy that will have at its core
the empowerment of Nigerians, creation of jobs and the provision
of quality public services''.
They called on the electorates to reject any candidate
who dosenot comform with these political ideals, in the
forth coming genral elections ''In
consideration of the above, and in conformity with the basic
principles already outlined, we urge our supporters and
sympathizers across the country to be properly guided in their
choice of candidates in the forthcoming general elections and to
reject any candidate who does not posses these qualities or
subscribe to these basic principles, does not honour them and
will not realize them if or when he comes into office''.
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