President Muhammadu Buhari has advised political parties, candidates and security agents to behave responsibly in Saturday’s gubernatorial election in Edo State.
The president, in a message to voters, political parties, election officials and security personnel, also warned against what he described as “the do-or-die mentality to politics.”
The president’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in a statement in Abuja on Thursday, quoted Buhari to have said:
“I am passionately committed to free and fair elections, but my own commitment is not enough if other actors at ground zero refuse to abide by the rules.
”I want to see democratic standards in the country raised higher at every level, but these cannot be achieved when politicians resort to do-or-die methods to gain power by any means or machination.
“The do-or-die mentality to politics is a threat to free and fair elections because the actors are more focused on winning than caring about a fair outcome that reflects the will of the people.”
The president appealed to all political parties and their candidates to respect law and order.
He also advised election officials and security agents “to remain neutral to ensure free and fair elections and avoid any action(s) capable of compromising the integrity of the elections.”
” Conducting free and fair elections is one of my main concerns for our democracy, and I want this commitment to be one of the legacies I will leave behind when I depart office,” the statement quoted the president as saying.
The Independent National Electoral Commission has fixed Saturday for the governorship election.
The candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, and that of the Peoples Democratic Party, Governor Godwin Obaseki, who are the main contenders, had since signed a peace accord.
Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Mohammed Adamu, has ordered restriction of vehicular movement in Edo ahead of the election.
The Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Mr Frank Mba, made the disclosure in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.
He said the order was part of efforts by the police to ensure orderliness and safety during the election.
Mba said the vehicular movement restriction would be from 11:59p.m on Friday to 6p.m on Saturday.
He said the restriction order was informed by the need to prevent the free flow, circulation and use of illicit arms and hard drugs during the election.
Mba said that it was also to checkmate the movement of political thugs and other criminally-minded individuals from contiguous states from hijacking and disrupting the electoral processes.
He enjoined citizens of the state to come out en-masse and vote, adding that the police and other security agencies had been sufficiently mobilised to provide a safe, secure and conducive environment for the election.
Mba regretted any inconveniences the restriction order would cause the citizens.
He urged citizens to see the restriction as part of necessary sacrifices towards the enthronement of democracy.
Mba cautioned against violent and destructive acts, snatching of ballot boxes, vote buying, vote selling, hate speeches, and other acts that could compromise the electoral processes.
The FPRO said that the police would not sit idly by and watch hoodlums engage in criminal acts.
