The United Nations (UN) has asserted it is watching Nigeria so cautiously as the country conducts crucial general elections this year, to elect a new president, national assembly members, governors, and house of assembly members.
Mr. Matthias Schmale who is the made this known in an interview with journalists, in Ibadan, on Tuesday, on the sidelines of a high-level consultation with key stakeholders ahead of the general elections, organised by the Independent State Based Peace Committee, Oyo State chapter, with the support of National Peace Committee (NPC), The Kukah Centre, and the UN in Ibadan.
The programme was attended by traditional rulers, religious leaders, and other critical stakeholders from different parts of the state.
According to him, ‘It is often said if Nigeria sneezes, the rest of the continent get cold. We are very aware of the importance of a positive election signals, going from Nigeria to the rest of the continent, and the world.
‘Nigeria is surrounded by countries that have seen military coups. So, consolidation of democracy in Nigeria by yet another, is not the first one,’ adding that the UN had in the past supported Nigeria to have a successful elections. He stated further that other successful elections in the country, ‘sent powerful signals, not just to Africa, but to the world. This is why we in the UN, are watching so carefully.’
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Schmale also said the UN has been providing technical support to Nigeria, including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to ensure that progress is made in how to manage elections. He assured that when the UN sees some levels of progress being made, it would continue to work with INEC and other critical stakeholders to improve the process.
The Project Manager of, the National Peace Committee, Emmanuel Nkanta, described the event as timely, especially at a critical moment like this in the history of Nigeria, saying: ‘It is a high-level consultation. In attendance, we had traditional rulers, religious leaders, political parties, civil society organisatios (CSOs), youth, and women. He stated that “the idea is to continue to build up conversations around peaceful processes.’
The Chairman, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Oyo State, Apostle Joshua Akinyemiju, who doubles as the chairman of Independent State Based Peace Committee in the state, noted that the threats to the conduct of 2015 general elections, made a former military head of state, Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd) and Bishop Matthew Kukah of the Catholic Church, to come together to establish the National Peace Committee in 2014, which played a pivotal role in the peace that greeted the 2015 general elections.