The Presidential Candidate of the National Rescue Movement, Rev. Amb. Felix Osakwe, has warned candidates of the 18 political parties and religious leaders to desist from making comments that are capable to set the nation on fire, noting that instigating the Nigerian population against one another will do no one any good.
This was made known in Abuja, Monday as the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC reels out the result of the presidential election held over the weekend, while he called on all Nigerians, especially political elites and religious leaders to thread with caution in order not to cause a breakdown of law and order amidst the collation and eventual declaration of the winner, adding that in any contest there must a loser and winner.
The cleric and politician said his fellow candidates should accept their fate rather than engage in a futile attempt at discrediting the process.
Rev. Osakwe’s position according to him is rooted in the feelers from various quarters confirming that some political and religious leaders were already making inciting remarks threatening that Nigeria will cease to be if certain candidates do not emerge in the ongoing electoral exercise. Rev. Osakwe advised the electoral body, INEC to ensure a credible, free and fair process as they work tirelessly to collate results across the nation, which, according to him, is quite a tedious task.
He urged Nigerians to pray for the INEC to finish, strongly believing that President Buhari is bent on leaving a legacy of a credible election and that there shouldn’t be deliberate efforts at impugning the integrity of the electoral process.
He called on all stakeholders to keep calm, reiterating that those who have issues with the conduct of the elections should seek legal means to express their displeasure rather than threatening fire and brimstone adding that no one is more Nigerian than the others.
He also hinted that election is not war and disgruntled elements shouldn’t hide under the veneer of election to foment trouble in the country adding that, the polity is already being overheated and that, ” whoever emerges the winner eventually is the will of God and Nigeria must embrace peace so we can all move into a new phase of progress and prosperity.”
He maintained further that “Nigeria is our common project, and we must not allow it to erupt into flames. We can make this nation a haven for all of us if we work together as a family irrespective of tribe, language, or religion.”
The Ndokwa Delta State-born clergyman is a frontline presidential candidate in the ongoing elections under the platform of the National Rescue Movement, NRM.
