Africa
THE Patriots in Defence of Democracy, a political pressure group, has lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for his clear and unambiguous commitment to the inauguration of a new government on May 29.
Mr Tosin Adeyanju, Convener of the group made the call at an event on Wednesday in Abuja to mark the 71st birthday of the President-elect Sen. Bola Tinubu
He said the event was also in solidarity with the Feb. 25 presidential mandate freely given to Tinubu, the President-elect and Sen. Kashim Shettima, the Vice-President elect.
Adeyanju decried calls for the annulment of the election by some politicians.
”We are optimistic that while the election has come and gone, the country`s electoral process will continue to improve especially on the identified flaws.
”This is how mature democracies began their journeys”, he said.
He noted that if the U.S. could count over 200 years of democracy, it must had gone through its highs and lows.
“The time now is to allow the President-elect to assemble his team of youthful, energetic and goal-getting Nigerians and get cracking,” he said.
He added that Tinubu`s immediate task was to demonstrate that indeed, he was the harbinger of a new mandate and a renewed hope to the poor, the indigent and the underprivileged.
He called on security agencies to caution those making incendiary comments.
The group convener commended INEC for the high standard of professionalism in the registration of 93,469,008 voters.
This, he noted comprised of 49,054,162 males and 44,414,846 females and the decentralisation of polling booths to 176,846 to make it easy for as many voters as possible to exercise their franchise.
“We must remember that Feb. 25 witnessed simultaneously, the election of 109 Senators and 360 members of the House of Representatives in a contest among 18 political parties.
“Nigeria is no doubt Africa’s largest and most populous democracy. INEC’s challenges must be seen not just in the context of its budget.
“But the gargantuan ramifications of the personnel and logistics required to carry out elections.
INEC’s commitment to transparency and integrity of the vote is demonstrated in the adoption of the BVAS and the IREV digital systems,’’ he said.
He commended the over 146, 913 foreign election observers who witnessed the elections and endorsed the processes that led to the emergence of candidates while recommending improvement in future polls.
Adeyanju appreciated the international community for demonstrating rationality, experience and goodwill by congratulating the President-elect and wishing Nigeria well as the new administration prepares to hit the ground running.
The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that special prayers were also offered by both Christian and Muslim clergies for Tinubu and for the peace and unity in the country.
The clergies also prayed for wisdom for Tinubu to lead the country in the right direction.
NAN reports that the Department of State Services (DSS) said the plot to set aside the constitution and install an interim government by “misguided” political actors was real.
In a statement on Wednesday, the secret police also said some key players in the plot for an interim government in Nigeria have been identified.
The DSS had on Saturday warned politicians to desist from peddling ”hate speech” and all forms of “false narratives” to ignite violence or pit citizens against the current government of Buhari and the incoming administration of the president-elect.
The secret police warning followed a petition by the Minister of State for Labour and Productivity, Festus Keyamo that the DSS invite some politicians over their rejection of Tinubu as the president-elect. (NAN)
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Tags: Festus Keyamo INEC Mr Tosin Adeyanju President Muhammadu Buhari
