A Civil Society Organization, Youths United for Democracy, YUDEM, has called on all political stakeholders in Nigeria to give peace a chance and allow the May 29th inauguration of a new administration to hold without heating up the polity.
Speaking to journalists when he and his team visited the Unity Fountain venue of the pro-democracy hangouts that has been ongoing for over 50 days in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, leader of the group, Mr. Bawa Umar, stated that ” It is gratifying to see so many Nigerians for so many weeks non-stop this much committed to the cause of justice and democracy by hanging out here to press home the need for all hands to be on deck to ensure a smooth transition from the incumbent to another administration both at national and state levels. We desperately need peace and security in this country and nothing must be done to further exacerbate our current security challenges.”
“Everyone who disagrees with the outcome of the election must take advantage of Nigeria’s judicial system by approaching the Courts for redress and, having done that, allow the Courts to resolve the matters without anyone resorting to extra legal means to seek redress. Such approach doesn’t help anyone and certainly doesn’t help our country. We support this Pre-Inauguration Hangouts and countdown to May 29th being a peaceful advocacy initiative to ensure a smooth transition to the incoming administration. We congratulate the organizers for a job well done and we promise that we are with you all the way to the last countdown.”
Responding to the group, Dr. A.A Maiagogo, the Co-Convener of the Pre-Inauguration Hangouts at Unity Fountain, Abuja, said ” We welcome you and, indeed, all Nigerians to this symbol of our national unity called Unity Fountain where we have been gathering for the past 55 days to ensure that we keep vigil here and not allow antidemocratic forces use it for their nefarious agenda. Our presence here in the last 55 days is our own patriotic sacrifices to keep the sanity of our democracy intact and not allow anything to upset a smooth transmission of power from one administration to another as we have been having since 1999.”
“Our intention is noble, our determination is unshakeable. We are pro-peace, pro-justice, pro-democracy, pro-rule-of-law and pro-good-governance. Justice can be gotten without violence and without overheating the polity as some wanted to turn this place into before our patriotic intervention.”
“As the countdown to May 29th continues, we urge all Nigerians to cooperate with the outgoing government to give us a hitch-free transition from Buhari to Tinubu so that this country would not be thrown into chaos or constitutional crises. That’s unnecessary and even unreasonable. We have the courts to adjudicate on election matters and we should allow the legal due processes to run their cause as we’ve been witnessing since 1999. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, is very clear and sacrosanct as to what course of action to take whenever anyone has grievances with the outcome of an election. That’s what we advocate here on a daily basis for the past 55 days and will continue to do until May 29th”.
“We thank you for coming and we welcome all Nigerians who are lovers of democracy and justice to continue to join us as they have been doing from all walks of life and different political persuasions since we’ve been congregating here in the spirit of one Nigeria. We have the confidence that the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will perform tremendously well as president but we urge Nigerians to give him time to sort things out and not give room for over expectations. I commend Hon. James Faleke for his steadfast commitment and supports for this hangout initiative from inception. We thank everyone who has supported us in any other way that they have including their solidarity visits as you have done today. The list is almost endless. We appreciate them all from Iyaloja-General, Chief Mrs. Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, Mr. Oluwaseyi Tinubu, Senators, Honorables, different political Parties’ leaders, activists, students and people with disabilities, we thank you all. I salute Mr. TosinAdeyanju for his leadership in guiding this hangout from inception”
“One thing we are sure of is that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu will bring sterling governance qualities to bear as president and will activate a robust governance principle that would take Nigeria to the next level of socioeconomic advancement and indigenous technological take-off that would rival the best in the world. We remain steadfast in our initiative to stand by the truth and defend the cause of democracy, peace and justice in our dear country, Nigeria. With the help of God Almighty and the support of all Nigerians, this country shall be great!”, Maiagogo concluded
