Politics

Elections: Nigeria Is Yours To Build, Jonathan Charges Youths

Published

3 years ago

February 21, 2023

Ahead of Saturday’s elections, former President Goodluck Jonathan has enjoined Nigerians especially the youths to be patriotic, peaceful and display true sportsmanship as they exercise their civic right to vote for candidates of their choice.

Jonathan, who stated this in a message to Nigerians released by his office on Tuesday, also urged politicians to eschew hatred and violence, urging them to be circumspect in their actions and work towards consolidating the nation’s democracy.

On his charge to the youths, Jonathan, who is noted to be the first incumbent president in Nigerian history to concede defeat in an election said, “The future belongs to you; do not allow yourselves to be used as agents of destruction and violence. Nigeria is yours to build. This election provides you with the opportunity to be key partners in the nation-building process by electing leaders of your choice; those you can hold to account, those you trust to defend your future and guarantee unity, peace, and prosperity in our great country.

“To all citizens, this is a moment of truth and courage. Democracy has put our fate in our hands. It has given us power, the power to make the right choices, determine our future, and shape our destiny.

“I urge you all to make your respective choices in the best interest of our land. Let us make our choices peacefully and respect the choices and rights of others.”

The former President, who led the country from 2010 – 2015, noted that the 2023 election meant so much to all the citizens, describing it as a moment of truth and courage.

He stated, “Democracy has put our fate in our hands. It has given us power, the power to make the right choices, determine our future, and shape our destiny. I urge you all to make your respective choices in the best interest of our land. Let us make our choices peacefully and respect the choices and rights of others.”

He said, “This is a historic week for our country as citizens of voting age go out to cast their ballots this weekend to elect our next President and federal parliamentarians who will be expected to make laws for the common good of the land. The same exercise will be repeated for the governorship and state Houses of Assembly in two weeks.

“It is a time that requires us all to exercise the highest form of patriotism in our nation-building journey and collective quest for peace and progress. Let us approach this election with devotion, dedication, and selflessness, by ensuring that we don’t jeopardise our country’s peace and unity as we exercise our franchise and pursue our political dreams and aspirations.”

Jonathan noted that in recent times, West Africa and a few other nations in our continent had witnessed a crisis of democracy that had led to unconstitutional change of governments, which derailed their democratic quest for peace and development.

He added, “We must not allow our elections to be a source of violence and anarchy. We must desist from the temptation of yielding to those desirous of making our communities and states, theatres of conflicts for their selfish ends.
“Let us realise that the primary purpose of democracy is to uphold the freedom and dignity of citizens and deploy the instruments of governance toward advancing and improving the well-being of our people.

“We should strive to consolidate the gains we have recorded in our democracy in the last two decades by ensuring that the elections are peaceful, just, and fair.”

The former President added, “I urge the Independent National Electoral Commission, security agencies, and other critical stakeholders in our democracy to be professional, civil, and non-partisan as they carry out their duties during this election. This way, we can deepen citizens’ faith in our democratic process and minimise the likelihood of electoral violence.

“To politicians, this is a time to be circumspect in our actions and work towards consolidating our democracy. Power is sought and held in the trust to be selflessly exercised in the interest of the people and seeking it at all costs negates this ideal and projects politicians in a bad light.

“Let us eschew hatred and violence and display true sportsmanship, during and after the poll.”

Politics

Obasanjo, Atiku, Obi Meet In Abuja

Published

9 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Editor

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi met in Abuja on Saturday.

The trio were among prominent political figures who attended the Tambuwal Colloquium, titled “Leadership, Service and Statesmanship at 60,” held at the New Event Hall of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, in honour of the 60th birthday of former Sokoto State Governor and Senator, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

Atiku confirmed his presence at the event in a post on his X handle, stating that he had arrived at the venue for the colloquium organised to mark Tambuwal’s milestone birthday.

The former vice president also shared images of himself, Obasanjo and Obi at the event.

The event attracted political leaders, statesmen and stakeholders from across the country.

Politics

PANDEF Wades Into Rivers Crisis, Sets Up Seven-member Mediation Team

Published

14 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Editor

The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has intervened in the political crisis in Rivers State, calling on all actors to sheathe their swords and embrace peace in the interest of the development of the state and the region in general.

Expressing concern that the political disagreement involving the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Mr Nyesom Wike, Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the State House of Assembly might degenerate to total lawlessness, the Board and National Executive Committee of PANDEF set up a seven-member reconciliation team to resolve the issues.

The team, which is headed by a former Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Kanu Agabi, has six other members.

They are Senator Obende Domingo (Vice Chairman); Chief Essien Nduese; Dr Timiebi Koripamo-Agari; Chief Mike Ejiofor; Mrs Nella Rabana-Andem, SAN; and Prince Godwin Okotie, the Deputy National Secretary of PANDEF, who will serve as the secretary of the team.

Politics

Wike: Why Removing Fubara Will Be Difficult – Ex-Commissioner

Published

2 days ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

A former Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Austin Tam-George, has said that attempts to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara would be difficult to sustain, citing what he described as the governor’s performance record and the lack of concrete allegations against him.

Tam-George made the remarks on Thursday while speaking on Prime Time on Arise Television, arguing that the impeachment process being initiated against Fubara was to scuttle his chance for a second term.

According to him, Governor Fubara has continued to place the needs of the people at the centre of his administration, with visible interventions in rural development, housing, education and healthcare.

He said this, in his view, has made it difficult for opponents to justify moves to remove the governor from office.

Tam-George also called on the All Progressives Congress, APC, to intervene, arguing that the party should not allow what he described as the humiliation of a sitting governor.

He said: “Well, all I think he needs to do is to do exactly what he’s been doing from the beginning, which is to place the people at the center of gravity of his administration, prioritize the needs of the people, so that the people can see the direct impact of government action in their lives.

“And that’s exactly what he’s doing in terms of rural development, in terms of housing sector transformation, which I mentioned that he is doing the same in education sector and in health.

“So if he continues, if he persists in placing the people’s need at the center of focus of his administration, there is no way they are going to be able to justify this kind of shenanigans.

“Because, if you look very carefully at the so called articles of impeachment, you will see that there is no specificity in terms of any infraction by the governor or his deputy.

“What they are trying to do is to make sure they scuttle the administration so that the governor doesn’t then get to the point where he will be seeking a second term.

“Let me be clear, just two days ago, Nyesom Wike was at one of the local governments, and he made it clear in a moment of epiphany, he made it clear that, look, if Governor Fubara were to get a second term in office, it will amount to his own political burial.

“So all of these things that we are seeing the so called impeachment proceedings they’ve initiated, it’s actually an effort to try to scuttle the prospects of the governor coming for a second term, and I don’t see how they will succeed.

“If you look at the so called articles of impeachment, as I said, they lack specificity in terms of the kind of infraction that they allege that the governor has committed. He has done nothing wrong, and they will see how the process will play out.

“My sense, and in fact, if I were to advise the governor, my sense is that he should just maintain the people, retain the people at the center of gravity of his administration, meet their needs, run a transparent administration as he always done, and then the truth will come out, and he will be able to defend the administration.

“I think the the governing APC should also step in because they can’t possibly allow the governor of the office with probably one of the best performance records in the country to be humiliated by some of these members of the assembly.”