The Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, yesterday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to stop alleged intimidation of PDP members by the police in Edo State, ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.
Ekweremadu in a statement by his media aide, Uche Anichukwu, expressed worry over what he called “arbitrary arrests and intimidation of members and supporters of PDP by federal security agencies.”
He called on President Buhari to urgently intervene to ensure a free, fair, and credible electoral process in Edo State.
“I am deeply distressed by the development, not just because I am a member of the PDP, but more importantly, because the PDP had taken our electoral process beyond where it is being dragged back to today.
“The greatest gift of democracy, which makes other blessings of democracy feasible, is the inalienable right of the people to elect their leaders of their own freewill in a free, fair, and credible electoral process that must be devoid of all forms of intimidation.
“As a beneficiary of the electoral reforms and policy of non-interference in the electoral process, exemplified by the immediate past PDP administration, led by former President Goodluck Jonathan, I expect the APC-led federal government to immediately call the security agencies to order. If the APC-led FG cannot improve on the electoral process, I expect them to, at least, maintain the standard set by the PDP, “he said.
He called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), political parties, political elite and the entire people of the state to work for the progress of the country by ensuring a “credible, violence-free, and conclusive poll”.
“I believe it is now clear to Nigerians and the people of Edo State, in particular, that PDP is the only truly pan-Nigerian and pro-poor political party capable of turning things around for the nation. I expect Edo electorate to vent their displeasure over the excruciating hardship in the land by voting out the APC in Edo State,” he said.
DAILY TRUST
