The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Benue State Chapter, has called on all stakeholders in the election process to conduct themselves peacefully during the Governorship rerun election which will hold on Saturday, March 23, 2019.
The state Chairman, Rev. Augustine Akpen Leva, who made this call, on Thursday, while briefing newsmen, said the Association wished to remind Christians, the electorate, political institutions, and security agencies of their shared responsibilities towards ensuring a free, fair, and peaceful election.
Rev Leva charged all Christians to be peaceable and to be submissive to constituted authority saying “for the one in authority is God’s servant for your good.”
He noted with regret that the history of election violence in Benue has left the state fractured and left a window through which strangers who bear the state no goodwill have crept in and sown seeds of discord. “We, the people of Benue State have the most to lose and we must ensure that the upcoming rerun election is violence free.
“This rerun has offered us a unique opportunity to rewrite history so that …no longer will violence be heard in our land, nor ruin or destruction within our borders.”
He condemned the mutual suspicion and distrust of the opposing political parties about each other’s commitment to fair elections saying that has no doubt primed an already charged political environment for unsavoury acts of Violence and election rigging.
“Layered on top of those anxieties are widespread worries about whether the Federal Government of Nigeria is prepared to adopt a neutral position on the rerun Governorship election or whether, the much talked about ‘Federal Might’ will be employed to swing the outcome of the election one way or the other.”
The association however, called on the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, to live up to their responsibilities.
“The onus is now on the Commission, more than ever, to be indeed, an unbiased umpire of the electoral process.”
READ ALSO: Benue Re-run: Only 109,733 Eligible Voters Will Participate — INEC
He said officers of the Commission must not bow to external and internal pressures to doctor results in favour of any contestant or political party.
The Reverend who sought neutrality and non interference of the presidency insisted that the federal government should not subvert the collective will of the Benue People, which has been and will be expressed by popular uninfluenced majority votes cast.
“The will of God, epitomized by the wishes of the people must prevail.
“While CAN, Benue State commends the effort of the Chief of Amy Staff. Lt. General Buratai in setting up a panel to investigate the role of the military in the electoral process, we sue for non interference by military personnel in the upcoming rerun elections and call on the Nigeria Police to be more assertive in coordinating with INEC towards maintaining the peace during the elections and deter impunity for violations of electoral regulations and guidelines.”
The association appealed to politicians and political leaders to refrain from unguarded utterances capable of inciting their gullible membership and the public against true democratic tenets.
They insisted that the survival and existence of a viable and peaceful Benue must rank higher and above any other consideration in making the choice of the next Governor of the State, calling on all persons within the areas the rerun election would hold to turn out in their numbers to make their uninfluenced choice of their governor without fear of molestation.
“On her part, CAN, Benue State shall have registered election observers to ensure that the electoral process is monitored and reported truthfully. We must not forget that God himself is the ultimate observer and final judge not only on the election but of all activities of mankind,” he added.
