2027: Condemn electoral violence, NRM urges Tinubu

Detailed summary

The National Rescue Movement has called on President Bola Tinubu to publicly condemn the rising wave of electoral violence in Nigeria ahead of the 2027 pol Read More:…

The National Rescue Movement has called on President Bola Tinubu to publicly condemn the rising wave of electoral violence in the country.

The party also said the President should make it clear that political ambition must not be pursued at the expense of Nigerians’ lives.

The National Chairman of the party, Chinedu Obi, who spoke on Friday in Abuja during a sensitisation walk organised by the party, said the rising cases of political violence required a strong intervention from the President.

He argued that statements by the President carried significant weight and could influence the conduct of political actors and their supporters.

He said, “Unequivocally, the President should come out clearly and tell everyone that everything in politics is not about violence. He should tell everyone not to take to arms or resort to violence so that Nigerians will calm down, because the statement of the President in every situation is like a policy statement.

“Remember, it was on the declaration on inauguration day that he stood on the podium to say subsidy is gone. The subsidy not go? That’s the strength of the power of the voice of the President. So the same way we want to hear a President say, please, my ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian.”

He recalled former President Goodluck Jonathan’s declaration in 2015 that his political ambition was not worth the life of any Nigerian, saying it helped to calm tensions surrounding the general election.

He said, “Remember, in 2015, there was a prediction that Nigeria would go ablaze. That didn’t happen. The only reason that didn’t happen was that we had a President who said his ambition was not worth the life of any Nigerian. And that brought a sound message to everyone that you don’t need to fight over this.”

The NRM chairman expressed concern over the trend of violence in the political space, insisting that elections should be contests of ideas and policies rather than opportunities for political actors to unleash violence.

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