No more room for politicians to manipulate polls outcome in Nigeria: Jonathan

By The Rainbow
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No more room for politicians to manipulate polls outcome in Nigeria: Jonathan

 
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan on Monday reiterated his dministration's commitment to free-and-fair elections in the country.

He said, while addressing Nigerian professionals in Washington DC, the United States, that the days when a few politicians would use their hirelings and thugs to hijack voters cards and other electoral materials with a view to manipulating the outcome of elections are over.

The president said he would do everything possible to ensure that the elections in Nigeria become very free, fair and credible, as he had pledged during his campaigns in 2011.

According to Jonathan, the pledge has been largely fulfilled in recent elections in Edo, Ondo and Ekiti States, the Federal Government will take all necessary steps to ensure that no individual, group or political party is able to thwart the legitimate choice of genuine voters in Saturday's governorship election in Osun State.

He said, “The issue of credible elections must be institutionalised in Nigeria.

“Our electoral processes were not very good or credible when we came into office, but as I promised, we have been working very hard to change things and ensure that our elections are more credible.

“That every legitimate vote counts and that results are acceptable to the electorate.

“I promise you that the Osun governorship election will be very free, fair and credible.”

The President reassured the Nigerians at the forum that the the Federal Government would continue to give the highest possible priority to policies and programmes that would lead to the creation of enough jobs for Nigerian youth.

“Job creation is a challenge to every government in the world. We are doing all that we can to tackle the problem in Nigeria because we know that we have a very youthful population and if we do not create enough jobs to meet their needs, the country will be in trouble,” he said.

President Jonathan also spoke of his administration's efforts to improve standards and access to educational institutions in Nigeria, address the national housing deficit and further empower women.

He thanked Nigerian professionals abroad for the patriotic support for his government and urged them to continue to show love and concern for the well-being of their fatherland.

“We expect you to continue to add more value to what we are doing and we will continue to engage your services and expertise when we can, because if we do not, the valuable education and skills you have acquired will be of no benefit to the development of our country,” he said.

The President later received and commended young Nigerians who are participating in the Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, a leadership programme sponsored by the United States Government to train young African professionals in American universities, government departments and private sector.

Out of the 500 places on the programme, 45 were won by young Nigerians in a competitive selection process.

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