Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku
Abubakar, has called on Nigerians to come out enmass to exercise their
franchise in the national elections billed for this Saturday,
irrespective of their political leanings.
The former Vice President stated this on Thursday in a Facebook
broadcast.
His message comes few hours to the 12 midnight deadline for end of
political campaigns, ahead of the President and National Assembly
elections scheduled for this Saturday.
Section 99 of the 2010 Electoral Act (as amended) provides that
political campaigns must end 24 hours to polling day.
In his Facebook broadcast, Atiku expressed optimism that the forthcoming
election would present another opportunity for Nigerians to oust an
incumbent president.
In the broadcast which lasted for 1 minute, 33 seconds, Atiku said: “My
dear citizens of Nigeria, as you know, we will have our presidential and
National Assembly elections. The reason we have elections is to allow us
to have our voices heard on how we have been governed in the last four
years and who will govern us for the next four years.
“On March 28, 2015, we the people of Nigeria went to our polling units,
armed only with our PVCs and yet we were able to remove an incumbent
President from office.
“That made me very proud to be a Nigerian and a democrat.
“This Saturday, we will have the opportunity to do so again. My message
to you is simple: please come out and vote as this election is about
your future and the future of our great nation.
“On Election Day, we are all equal, as no single vote is more important
than any other. But if you do not vote, you will be accepting that the
next four years will be like the last.
“The power to get Nigeria working again is in your Permanent Voters Card
(PVC). I will be voting with mine on Saturday. And I call on you to
please join me irrespective of who you wish to vote for.
“God bless you and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.
BusinessDay reports that two hours after the video was posted on
Facebook, it has attracted over 13,000 views, 2,000 likes, 1,400
comments and shared over 1,000 times.
