Buhari Tasks Stakeholders On Peace, Security

Details: Category: Politics; Published on Thursday, 24 March 2011 10:19; Written by Leadership; Hits: 1425

Presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change, (CPC), Muhammadu Buhari has acknowledged the sacrifice made by Nigerians to enthrone democracy in the country and advised all political stakeholders to ensure that there was peace and security during the polls.

Gen. Buhari, who said this while on a courtesy visit to the Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam as part of his campaign tour of the state, further emphasised that votes at the election must count just as he called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to live up to its responsibility of organising free and fair elections.

While lamenting over the decay in infrastructure across the country, the CPC presidential hopeful promised that the issue of security, power generation, employment as well as good rural roads would be his top priority if elected in the April polls.

"We must insist that our votes count. The election must be free and fair and we must try to empower the people. 12 years ago, our textile industries employed over 300,000 people but now, it can only employ about 20,000, so, where is the balance of 280,000? So, you can see that there is need for our leaders to effect a change and the change is in CPC," Buhari stated.

He commended Governor Suswam for according him proper protocol even though he belonged to a different political party and urged him to continue to show political maturity.

In his remarks, Hon. Suswam commended Gen. Buhari for the way he had been carrying out his campaigns and advised that it is high time Nigerians discarded political violence.

Suswam noted that based on Buhari’s background as a security person, he is vast on security issues and urged him to continue to encourage his supporters to eschew violence to serve as shining examples to other political parties.

The Governor opined that as the nation goes into election, only one person would emerge as winner, hence the need for other contestants to support such a person.

Positing that the incumbent President, Goodluck Jonathan appointed Prof. Jega as INEC Chairman because of his belief in free and fair elections, Suswam called on all political actors to support the President to further move the country forward.