President Goodluck Jonathan has admonished politicians in the country to avoid promoting lies, division and hatred as the nation prepares for the 2015 the elections, rather they should conduct themselves as statesmen they should be.
Jonathan also urged Nigerians to harp on the spirit of Christmas and offer special prayers for a greater manifestation of divine peace in the country “and the vanquishing of all demons of hatred, divisiveness and disunity in our midst”.
In his Christmas message to the nation, Jonathan reassured Nigerians that his administration will give the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) all necessary support to enable it conduct a “credible and acceptable elections in 2015”.
He also urged Nigerians to use the Christmas season to offer special prayers for all “women and children who have suffered and continue to suffer untold hardship, deprivation and death at the hands of terrorists and insurgents.
He said, “To my mind, there can be no doubt that the greater internalisation of the virtues of love for fellowmen, tolerance, Godliness, honesty, fairness to others, selflessness, and peaceful co-existence with others by all adult Nigerians, and the inculcation of the same in our youth, will definitely help our dear nation to overcome most of its present challenges.”
Tasking politicians on issue based campaigns, Jonathan said, “I urge our political class to be law- abiding and place the greater interests of our nation above all personal or sectional interests in the countdown to the elections.
In the same vein, the president of the Senate, Senator David Mark, has called on all Nigerians to emulate the virtues of love, peace and tolerance as a reflection of the holy season of Christmas.
In his Christmas message yesterday, Mark said as Nigerians join their counterparts all over the world to celebrate the birth of the Jesus Christ today, there is the need to love one another and leave together in a peaceful atmosphere.
For his part, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Aminu Tambuwal, has urged Nigerians to use the occasion of this year’s Christmas celebrations to pray for the successful conduct of the 2015 general elections.
Tambuwal, in a message to celebrate the yuletide season issued by his special adviser on media and public affairs, Imam Imam, yesterday, urged Nigerians to seek God’s intervention for the end of the current security challenges confronting the nation.
“We should all pray for the successful conduct of the 2015 general elections because candidates who emerged through free, fair and credible exercise are more likely to serve the interest of the nation,” he added.
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