The presidential candidate, Allied Congress Party of Nigeria, ACPN, Oby Ezekwesili, has warned against thuggery, military intimidation and harassment of voters in the 2019 elections.
Ezekwesili, who spoke on Friday at a forum on Violence Free Elections, said the absence of thuggery and military intimidation would be part of the conditions that would guarantee a violence-free poll and urged other presidential candidates to believe in the peace accord signed and work towards achieving it.
“You know there is a peace accord. In our own case, we signed, not because it is a ceremony but because we believe in it,” she said.
The ACPN flagbearer also stressed the importance of signing the amended electoral bill and non-interference of military personnel at the polls in promoting violence free elections, calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to do the needful according to public opinion and sign the electoral bill into law.
She also urged him to address all lingering electoral issues ahead of the poll.
Ezekwesili also admonished the National Assembly to ensure the people have those rules that would give the country electoral integrity.
“We also need to have the rules of the game as far as the military structures are concerned to ensure that they are not in any way complicit in election malpractice.
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“We should therefore come together to agree on the rules of the game as far as the use of military is concerned.
”We don’t want a situation where the military will carry out a coup from the back door. None of us will accept that,” she said.
The spokesperson, Presidential Summit Centre, Princess Zara Mustapha Audu, co- organisers of the Forum, said the Centre was established to improve elections in Nigeria by educating both the aspirants and the electorate on the need for a peaceful election.
The forum was organised by Presidential Summit Centre in collaboration with Forum of Presidential Candidates towards a peaceful conduct of elections.
