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We will work hard to make 2015 polls violence-free, APC assures Nigerians

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) has assured Nigerians and the
international community that it will do all in its power to make sure
that the 2015 general election is violence-free, saying the rising
apprehension about the polls among the populace
is inimical to the conduct of a successful election.
Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.
In a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by its National Publicity
Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party however said its efforts
should be complemented by the PDP-led federal government, which has a
propensity for using the security agencies to harass and intimidate
the opposition and ordinary citizens.

It also said the FG should take all measures necessary to ensure that
the elections are free, fair and credible, since rigging and other
acts of electoral malfeasance constitute the immediate trigger for
anger and violence during and after elections.

”We have heard from Nigerians who are so afraid about possible
violence during the forthcoming election that they are even willing to
relocate to other countries until after the elections. But, as the
biggest opposition party in Nigeria and a major stakeholder in our
nation’s democracy, we are assuring, on our part, that there will be
no violence.

”Though our party has no history of violence, we have commenced a
nationwide effort to sensitize our members and supporters to the need
to eschew rancour and embrace non-violent methods, even in the face of
the kind of provocations to which we were subjected during the Ekiti
and Osun governorship elections, when our members were needlessly
harassed, arrested and detained by partisan security agencies acting
under orders from the FG.

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”If the federal government allows a level playing field for all
contestants, if the security agencies stop acting as the armed wing of
the ruling PDP, if the electoral umpire will carry out its duties
without fear, favour or bias and if citizens are allowed to exercise
their franchise unmolested, the stage will be set for a non-violent,
free, fair and credible polls. In other words, the government has a
major role to play in making the forthcoming polls peaceful.

”On our part, in addition to other efforts aimed at ensuring a peaceful
election, we pledge to accept the result of an election that is not
only free, fair,
credible and transparent, but one that is also seen to be so. We hope
other parties
will make a similar pledge,” APC said.

The party said it demonstrated, during its recent rancour-free and
festive national convention in Lagos, that elections should be a
celebration of democracy, rather than a moment of fear, violence and
threat to lives.

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It said far from mere rhetoric, it had taken practical steps, as far
back as May 2014, to work with the PDP to ensure violence-free polls
in 2015.

”Following up on a meeting of representatives of both parties in
Washington, DC, US, April 7-8 2014 under the auspices of the CSIS
Nigeria Election Forum, at which it was agreed that a joint meeting of
both parties be convened to discuss and agree on the crucial issue of
a Code of Conduct for the campaigns and the elections, we wrote a
letter to the PDP suggesting a bipartisan meeting to address the
issue.

”The PDP agreed to the proposal and suggested that it should be
expanded to include the leadership of other political parties in the
country. However, problem with logistics meant that the meeting did
not hold.

”Even with the little time left for the election to hold, we strongly
believe that a meeting of the leadership of the two political parties,
the APC and the PDP, will send a powerful message to our compatriots
and indeed the international community and douse the tension that is
building up ahead of the election,” APC said.

Alhaji Lai Mohammed
National Publicity Secretary

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