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President
Jonathan with Ghana President and ECOWAS Chair, President Mahama at the Abuja
Airport, Mon. March 23.
(Image cource: Reuben Abati @abati1990)
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In
view of the Saturday presidential election in Nigeria, Chairman of the
Authority of Heads of State of the Economic Community of West African States
and Ghanaian President, John Draman Mahama, on Monday called for free, fair and
credible election.
Mahama
made the call, when he met with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Nnamdi
Azikwe International Airport, Abuja.
According
to the Ghanaian president, ECOWAS was interested in the conduct of a peaceful
and credible election in the country.
“I
am here in my capacity as the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of States of
ECOWAS on election visit to the Federal Republic of Nigeria. As you are aware,
our sub-region this year, has five countries that are going through elections
and ECOWAS has been involved in ensuring that this elections are held in a
peaceful and transparent environment.
THISDAY report continues:
“And
so ECOWAS has undertaken in all these countries that are facing elections,
to provide long term electoral observer missions. These missions have been
monitoring the electoral process in the lead up to the elections not just
before the elections, but from a longer period. We have received several
monitoring reports and we are working together with the electoral commissions
of the countries and the authorities of those countries
“We
have tried to ensure that obstacles to free and fair elections are removed to
ensure that election are free and fair, people would accept the results of
those elections. As chair of the authorities of Heads of State of ECOWAS, I
have extended my solidarity to the Nigerian people through my brother President
Jonathan, to see that the whole of ECOWAS, not only ECOWAS, but the
international community is in solidarity with Nigeria to have a very
transparent election so that the democratic process in Nigeria will be better
entrenched,” he said.
While
indicating the significance of the election to the survival of the country, the
ECOWAS chief added “This is a critical election for Nigeria and it will be one
more indication for the world that Nigeria is a democratic country and ruled by
tenets of good governance and the rule of law.
“And
so, we want to wish you all the best. We are meeting with the INEC to look at
the state of preparedness and we believe that following the postponement of the
election, from February 14 to March 28 has given the INEC much more time to be
able to meet all its processes and be in readiness to ensure that voters are
not disenfranchised and that the results of the elections are accepted.
“We
expect that there will be no post-election violence and that all the parties
involved in the election will accept the results of the election in good faith
when INEC has announced the results of the elections.
“ECOWAS
will continue to monitor the situation and will do everything possible to stand
in solidarity with the Nigerian people to ensure that these elections pass on
successfully and Nigeria continues in the role that it plays in our sub
-regional bodies. As you know, Nigeria is a very important member of ECOWAS.
“The
largest economy, the largest nation in the ECOWAS region and so Nigeria’s
safety and security is the safety of and security of the whole of ECOWAS region
and so I stand on behalf of all the presidents of ECOWAS and wish that all
Nigerians will come out and express their votes and their votes will count
towards electing who becomes the leader of this country for the next four
years.”
Jonathan, who was on his
way to Bauchi to commission some projects, thanked the ECOWAS boss for the
body’s concerns about the nation’s electoral process even as he assured that
there would be free and fair elections.
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