By Soni Daniel, Regional Editor, North

The Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria, NPAN, yesterday, insisted that elections must hold in the country on March 28 and April 11 this year, as scheduled by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

File: Voter casting her vote

The position of the association was contained in a communiqué issued after its extra-ordinary Meeting held in Abuja.

The association maintained that the polls should be conducted in a transparent way to produce an outcome acceptable to Nigerians.NPAN also said that the polls should free, fair and held in such a way that would deepen the nation’s democracy and make Nigeria the overall winner at the end of the process.

The group noted with concern the adoption of what it call ‘do-or-die’ attitude by political leaders in the country and asked them to eschew all forms of violence, which it described as unnecessary, unhelpful and unhealthy for Nigeria’s democracy.
The communiqué, which was signed by NPAN President, Nduka Obaigbena, said: “The general election must hold on March 28th and April 11th as scheduled by the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC). The election must produce an outcome and Nigerians must rally around whoever emerges the winner.

“This election is for and by the Nigerian people and it must be free, fair and held in such a way that it will deepen the nation’s democracy such that at the end of the electoral process, Nigeria must be the winner.

“We call on the people of Nigeria, especially political leaders across the nation, to eschew every form of violence. The prevalent do-or-die attitude is unnecessary, unhelpful and unhealthy for our system of democracy. We must all say no to violence before, during and after the election”.

The group must have raised its voice following renewed apprehension that the rescheduled polls could further be shifted based on security concerns. Indeed, the Chairman of the INEC, Prof Attahiru Jega, met for hours with security chiefs at the Presidential Villa on Tuesday apparently to get confirmation for the polls.

Jega was forced to postpone the election earlier scheduled for February 14 because of the claim by the security chiefs that they would not be able to guarantee security for the elections.
They therefore asked INEC to shift the elections by six weeks to enable them pound insurgents in the North East and prepare the ground for peaceful elections across the country.

But shortly after the six weeks’ window opened, motley groups of pro-government groups and individuals began to level spurious allegations against Jega and asked that he should be removed in accordance with civil service rule when he does not fall under that category of workers in Nigeria.

Many other groups have gone to court to challenge Jega on his decision to use card readers to authenticate voter cards, saying that he did not have such right, which is capable of disenfranchising Nigerians.