Obasanjo allays fears of Nigerians, says nothing will stop elections

Former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, has said that nothing will prevent the forthcoming general elections from taking place. 

He said this on Wednesday, February 8th, while hosting members of the Board of Trustees(BoT) of the African Democratic Congress(ADC). 

The meeting took place at his penthouse residence located within the premises of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta.

Obasanjo while conversing at the meeting made it known that Nigeria was in an interesting period, and so he used the medium to urge the people to take the elections with all the seriousness it deserves.

The BoT members were led by their Chairman, Dr. Mani Ibrahim Ahmed, the national chairman of the party, Prof. Ralph Okey Nwosu and the former Presidential aspirant of the party, Chukwuka Monye.

Obasanjo made the comments concerning the elections based on the fears of Nigerians who thought  that the election might be postponed due to the protests staged in many states as a result of scarcity of the newly redesigned Naira notes and fuel.

He said, “We cannot take it (election) any less important than those people (international community).

“We are in an interesting period in Nigeria. In less than three weeks, we will be going to the poll. Well, I hope nothing will intervene against that. In less than three weeks, we will be electing a leader that will pilot the affairs of Nigeria for the next four years from May.

“And all of us in Nigeria, again, as I have said to you, early this morning, I have been in Togo, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire from the beginning of the week, from Sunday and they are as concerned about what happens in Nigeria as every Nigerian should be.

“Last night before I left Abidjan, President Ouattara (Alassane) was telling me the position in West Africa that Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire are vying for and he said to me, ‘well, we are putting it on hold until after Nigeria’s election.’  So even for them, Nigeria’s election is of importance. And I believe that for us who are directly involved, we cannot take it  any less important than those people.

“Your party (ADC) is one significant party in existence in this country and your voice matters. Therefore, I understand why you are here and we are here also as a family, we are all in Nigeria we are a family, Nigeria family and therefore when we gather together we can also talk and discuss as members of the same family-Nigeria family for what is of concern to Nigeria.”