A day after directing its flag to be flown at half mast, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has decided to put all its political and electioneering activities on hold.
The party said it was a further mark of honour for Nigerian youths who were killed at the Lekki Toll Gate as well as other killings that had occurred in various parts of the nation over the unfortunate fall-out of the EndSARS peaceful protest.
The party, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said it had also been informed of the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to postpone pending bye-elections due to the crisis in the country.
INEC had earlier scheduled bye elections in six senatorial districts and nine state constituencies in 11 states for October 31.
The statement said, “Though such comes at high cost to candidates and political parties, we hold that it is a step in the right direction under the prevailing circumstance.
“In that regard, the PDP charges INEC to continue to monitor the situation and use the period to fine-tune its preparations to conduct peaceful, free, fair and credible elections as part of the much-needed panacea for the restiveness in the country.
“Furthermore, our party urges the security agencies to also use the period to perfect their roles in electoral operations and tidy up all arrangements to guarantee the right atmosphere for peaceful and transparent polls where the safety of the voters as well as the sanctity of the ballot box are guaranteed.
“The PDP also restates its call for calm and prayers for our nation at this critical time in our national life, even as all hands must be on the deck in finding solutions and the way forward for our nation.”
