The National Peace Committee for the 2015 General Elections, yesterday, said the elections will hold as rescheduled on March 28 and April 11, and they will be peaceful.
This came following the committee’s meeting with the Chairman of INEC, Prof Attahiru Jega, the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, the Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba, and other relevant stakeholders in Abuja.
Former Head of State, Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar, the National Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), North, Suhaibu Lawal; the National Publicity Secretary of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olisa Metuh; the Chairman of Inter-Party Advisory Council, Dr Yunusa Tanko; the Senior Special Adviser to President on Interparty Affairs, Chief Ben Obi, among others, were also present at the meeting.
A member of the committee and former Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Rose Ukeje, told journalists after the meeting that the elections would hold and would be peaceful.
“IGP, INEC, the Chief of Defence Staff have all gave us assurance that elections will hold and they will be free, fair and credible and violence-free,” Ukeje said.
As part of plans to ensure everything goes as planned, the committee has set up a special committee to liaise with political parties and other stakeholders.
Ukeje said the committee, to be chaired by Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, and Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe, has the Primate Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion, Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh; the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar; Archbishop John Cardinal Onaiyekan and Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah among others as members.
Also speaking, a member of the committee, Prof Osita O. Osita, who spoke at the briefing, said that the meeting with security chiefs showed that the role of the military in the incoming election was unambiguous.