The umbrella body for northern Muslims, Jama’atu Nasir Islam, led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, has warned politicians against scuttling the nation’s democracy with the current shift in the February elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
In its reaction to INEC’s decision to postpone the polls at the weekend, the body also urged politicians to fear God in their doings.
A statement by Secretary-General of JNI, Dr. Khalid Abubakar-Aliyu in Kaduna on Monday, however, asked Nigerians to remain calm by not further heating up the polity.
The JNI said, “The JNI, under the leadership of its President-General, His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto and his lieutenants, after listening to the shift in dates of the 2015 general elections by six weeks, as announced by INEC, is watching with keen interest the uproar the decision is currently generating in the country and therefore calls for restrain and caution by all political gladiators.
“They should in the name of God, not jeopardise the already tensed situation of grief and anxiety.
“JNI reiterates that from the PVC distribution and other preparations towards the elections, to the political rallies and campaigns at different levels, there always emerge issues and incidents that generate excitements, concerns and even anxieties amid grief.
“Against the backdrop of these happenings, INEC had ab-initio assured Nigerians that arrangements for the 2015 general elections were steady and okay, but suddenly came a shift in dates. Our concern, most importantly, is the security of lives and property and we do hope that as stated, the security chiefs will assist positively to that effect”.