2015 Elections Will Be Violence Free, Says Uduaghan

SAN FRANCISCO, June 25, (THEWILL) - Delta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan has assured Nigerians that the 2015 general elections will be free, fair and devoid of violence.

Uduaghan who gave this assurance Wednesday in Asaba when he received the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James Entwistle and his team said, '2015 general elections will be devoid of violence as only popular candidates selected by the grassroots in a free and fair manner will run for the elections.'

'If a popular candidate acceptable to the people at the grassroots is chosen, there will be no violence as it happened at the recently concluded election in Ekiti State,' the governor explained.

While assuring that elections in the state will be free and fair and devoid of rancour, he reiterated his determination to ensure that in the forthcoming local government election there would be a level playing ground for all candidates.

Governor Uduaghan called on the international community to assist Nigeria in curbing oil theft and terrorism in some parts of the country through monitoring, intelligence gathering and sharing stating that 'terrorism is an international challenge and must be handled through international cooperation.'

The governor explained that Delta State has a cordial relationship with the United States especially at sub national level in the areas of health, engineering and environment disclosing that some Delta State workers have just returned from Pennsylvania after their training on Transport Engineering.

In a brief remark, the US Ambassador said they were in the state to explore new avenue of partnership and areas of development as part of the United States commitment to improving existing relations with Nigeria.

While commending the peaceful conduct of elections in Ekiti State, Amb. Entwistle charged politicians to play according to the rules and avoid violence in the countdown to the 2015 elections, promising the cooperation and support of the Unites States in this direction.

Ambassador Entwistle condemned the activities of Boko Haram in the country and said that the US was working closely with Nigeria to tackle terror.