2023 Polls: Senate President urges Nigerians to ensure peaceful elections

By Iyojo Ameh

The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan has urged Nigerians to conduct themselves peacefully at the upcoming general elections.

Lawan also urged them to turn up at their polling units on the appointed days to responsibly exercise their civic responsibility and democratic right to elect their governments and representatives in Parliament at the State and Federal levels.

The SenatePresident, in a statement he personally signed, appealed to the people to eschew violence and instead make these elections a celebration of democracy in the country.

He cautioned them to always be mindful that Nigeria is the only country that they have and encouraged them to play their parts in sustaining its peace, unity and progress at all times.

The full text of the statement reads:

“Nigerians are on the march again to another cycle of general elections, the seventh since 1999 when the Fourth Republic began.

“As we go to our respective polling units to participate in the elections of a new President and Members of the 10th National Assembly on Saturday February 25, 2023; to be followed by the elections of state Governors and Members of State Houses of Assembly on Saturday March 11, 2023, I urge us all to be of good conduct and make the exercise peaceful.

“I call on all Nigerians who have registered and collected their Permanent Voters Cards (PVC) to go to their polling units on the appointed days to responsibly exercise their civic responsibility and democratic right to elect their governments and representatives in Parliament at the State and Federal levels.

“We should always be proud of our right and duty under our hard-won democracy to elect our leaders. So let’s make this a celebration of democracy in our beloved country.

“And as we discharge this responsibility, we should always be mindful that Nigeria is the only country that we have. We should therefore play our parts in sustaining its peace, unity and progress at all times.

“I sincerely empathise with fellow Nigerians the hardship being experienced across our land in the implementation of the currency redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Even though we all agree on the merits of the policy, its implementation gap unfortunately brought enormous hardship upon citizens across the country.

“However, I wish to assure us that with appropriate intervention by Government and the collaborations of all stakeholders, this hardship will soon fade away and normalcy restored to our daily livelihoods.

“The All Progressives Congress (APC) has vigorously campaigned in all the states of the federation and Abuja to explain why Nigerians should again vote for our party and candidates.

“The past years since 2015 under our Government have recorded some gains in the face of enormous challenges. Nigerians are witnesses to these achievements across the sectors in all the six geopolitical zones of our country.

“Our Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima, are tested in Government and will surely Renew our Hope in a brighter future through their carefully thought-out Agenda. Therefore, I earnestly urge you all to cast your votes for the APC and all its candidates again from top down to bottom.

“The ninth National Assembly has done much to strengthen our electoral system by enacting the Electoral Act 2022 that has empowered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to better manage the electoral process. The Act has many innovations designed to make your votes count. This has given Nigerians and our friends in the international community a great confidence that the 2023 polls will be the best that we have seen under our growing democracy.

“However, to achieve this goal, we all need to play our parts in peaceful and responsible ways.

“May Allah bless this historic moment in Nigeria with a resounding success.”