ABUJA – Barely six weeks to the 2015 general elections, the Federal Government on Wednesday said that there would be no crisis before, during and after the polls.
The Supervising Minister of Information, Mr Nurudeen Mohammad, made the declaration while addressing a news conference in Abuja on the score card of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration as 2014 ends.
Mohammed conveyed President Jonathan’s reaffirmation that no drop of a Nigerian blood would be spilled in pursuit of electoral victory in the elections.
“While politicians and their supporters are crisscrossing their constituencies, asking for votes, I should stress that Nigerians know that the country is not going to war over the elections.
“The 2015 elections will be the fourth set of general elections to be conducted in the country since the return to democracy in 1999.
“President Goodluck Jonathan has reaffirmed his commitment to the conduct of free, fair and credible elections.
“He has not and will not interfere with the operations and activities of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), rather the president is determined to clear all obstacles that might hinder the smooth operations of INEC.
“President Jonathan also expects all political actors to play by the rules, in particular by abhorring violence and manipulation of the electoral process,” he said.
Itemising the achievements of the Jonathan administration, the minister said that in spite of challenges, the administration had attained giant strides.
He said the achievements were in the sectors of health, education, job creation, transportation, vehicle and other manufacturing, economy, agriculture, housing, water, electricity generation and many others.
He said the Federal Government was still relentless in ensuring that the country reached enviable heights in all fields of endeavour.
“The transformation agenda is the roadmap for President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
“The agenda is designed to speed up the realisation of Nigeria’s Vision 20:2020, which envisions Nigeria as one of the world’s top 20 economies by Gross Domestic Product size, by 2020.
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“The agenda aims to tackle unemployment, infrastructure deficits and inconsistency in policies and programmes, strong, inclusive, non-inflationary economic growth, employment generation, poverty alleviation, and sustained improvement in the well-being of all classes of Nigerians,” he said.
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The minister urged all stakeholders, especially media practitioners, to demand highest standards of candidates during and at the period of electioneering.
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He urged the media to refrain from giving vent to misguided elements whose attitude was win-or-destroy.
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“Nigeria is bigger than any one of us, and the people who the candidates seek to govern want peace and progress,” he said. (NAN)
