Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
The Benue State chapter of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has enjoined the federal government to be neutral and not interfere in the supplementary elections scheduled to hold in Benue this weekend.
Speaking at a press conference in Makurdi on Thursday, state CAN Chairman Rev Akpen Leva urged the federal government not to subvert the collective will of the Benue people but allow the will of God to prevail in the elections.
“The federal government should not subvert the collective will of the Benue people, which has been and will be expressed by popular uninfluenced majority votes cast; the will of God, epitomized by the wishes of the people, must prevail,” Leva said.
CAN also called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to be an unbiased umpire by not bowing to external or internal pressures to doctor results in favour of any contestant or political party.
The Christian body urged INEC officials to make deliberate efforts to strictly adhere to the provisions of the electoral regulations and guidelines to ensure uniformity of practice and procedures across all polling units, as well as transparent result management to ensure conclusive elections.
Leva said that the survival of a viable Benue must rank higher than any other considerations in making the choice of the next governor of the state, even as he advised politicians and political leaders to eschew unguarded statements capable of inciting their gullible members and the general public.
The Reverend encouraged those in areas where the rerun elections would be holding to come out in their numbers and express their choice of who their next governor would be, without fear of molestation.