Senate President, David Mark and Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma – Egba, on Thursday assured the International community that Nigeria was fully prepared for a smooth, transparent and peaceful conduct of the general elections slated for March 28 and April 11 this year.
Mark who hosted the Ireland Ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador Sean Hoy, in his office, also dismissed insinuations that the present administration is not well prepared for the elections.
He said the initial postponement was necessitated by hitherto security challenges and shortcomings in the distribution of Permanent Voter cards.
Mark said Nigeria was conscious of the impression of the International community on the nation and would not do anything to undermine national interest.
He wondered what would have been the outcome of the polls if they were held on February 14, when over 23 million Nigerians had yet to collect their PVC.
He said “For now, things have positively improved and Nigerians are happy that the coast is clear for the conduct of credible elections that would be acceptable and in conformity with international standard.”
Hoy told his host that Nigeria occupies a strategic position in the global community, a development that informed the keen interest in the affairs of Nigeria.
He recalled bilateral ties between Ireland and Nigeria, over the years, and pointed out that about 40,000 Nigerians currently live in Ireland.
Ndoma – Egba who also hosted a Congressman from the United States of America, Stephen Lynch, also pledged that the current fight against terrorism would not affect the conduct of the elections in 2015.
He noted that the fight against terrorism remained a global one, hence, the country welcomes partnerships with global friends.
He said, “The fight against terrorism is now a global one and we need connecting partnerships with everybody and Nigeria has always worked with the United States of America.
Lynch urged Nigerians to ignore threats by the terrorist to launch attacks on Nigeria during the general election slated for March 28.
He therefore asked the electorate to exercise their franchise in large numbers and vote for candidates of their choice.
He stated this when he paid a courtesy call on the Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN).
Lynch explained that even though the United States of America was attacked on September 9, 2001, elections in some parts of the country still went on as scheduled.
This, he said, was his message to Nigerians; that they should not allow any extremist deny them of the right to vote on election days.
SOURCE: Punchng.com