National Peace Committee at the signing of second peace accord by the presidential candidates at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.
The National Peace Committee, under the leadership of General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retired) has commended Nigerians for turning out en masse to exercise their civic duty by voting in the February 25 elections.
A statement by General Abubakar said the committee took note of the “patience, dignity and enthusiasm” with which Nigerians lined up to vote despite “observable challenges” in the polling units.
The statement said the National Peace Committee has, along with millions of other Nigerians and the International community, followed developments since the commencement and end of the Presidential and National Assembly elections.
It said despite glitches, the elections were peaceful across most parts of the country, stressing that the process of casting votes has largely been concluded. The challenge now, it said, “lies with the collation of the results”.
According to the statement, the committee understands that Nigerians are “quite disturbed” by these developments, and appeals that they be reminded that “the world has invested a lot of goodwill” in their country during these elections.
“The committee has taken note of the dissatisfaction among voters who braved all harsh weather elements to perform their civic dutie,” it said.
All citizens, it continued, deserve to be rewarded by a process that ensures that their votes truly count.
The Committee, however, appealed to INEC to “heed the grievances being expressed”, to take the necessary steps to escalate Investigations of all allegations of infractions, and to ensure that “Justice is clearly done to all citizens” who went out to vote.
The Committee also acknowledged the receipt of reports of a culture of “voter suppression” manifested across the country through the “application of targeted violence, disruption of processes, inducement of voters, intimidation, deliberate frustration of voters”, and the challenges of the election itself.
All Presidential candidates must take responsibility for statements made by their Spokespersons and Agents it insisted, appealing to all citizens to “remain calm” while INEC sees the process to its conclusion.
Reporting by Hamza Alkali; Editing by Abdullahi Lamino and Tony Okerafor