The Sultan stated this on Monday, January 19, during the President’s visit to Sokoto State in continuation of his re-election campaign.
The Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III has told President Goodluck Jonathan that he might not vote in the upcoming elections because he does not have a Permanent Voters Card (PVC).
The
Sultan stated this on Monday, January 19, during the President’s visit
to Sokoto State in continuation of his re-election campaign.
The religious leader also urged Jonathan to ensure that no eligible citizen is disenfranchised.
“Let
us respect people’s wishes; let’s not try to disenfranchise anybody. We
have had issues of the Permanent Voter Cards and I want to tell you
that even myself, I don’t have a PVC, so it means I will not vote on
February 14,” the Sultan said.
“So, we
have to look for a way out, it is for your government to now look for
what to do, how to ensure that all the cards get to the voters before
the voting day or in the alternative, find a way out because for any
problem there is a solution. We believe you will find a solution as
regard this very serious hitch facing us because millions of Nigerians
seem to be heading towards disenfranchisement and they won’t be able to
vote. I have heard comments from the INEC Chairman, (Prof. Attahiru
Jega), but we are still waiting for our cards to come,” he added.
The
Sultan also urged Jonathan to work hard to put an end to the current
insecurity plaguing the country while adding that politics should focus
on issues and not religion or name-calling.
“The
whole politicking had been turned into either religion or ethnic
matters and this should not be so because we see what happens across the
world. We are worried because religion had been brought into it, we
made it very clear in 2011, there is no way religion should be part of
the election campaigns or even the election itself,” he said.
“On
insecurity issues facing us in all parts of country, we have heard
campaign promises left, right and centre but we want to hear from our
political leaders, how do you intend to resolve the security issues? How
do you intend to tackle unemployment? How do you intend to tackle the
rot in education?” the Sultan asked.
“These
are issues that should concern the various political leaders instead of
mudslinging, calling each other names and whatever. We are very worried
what we see in newspapers, watch on television and hear comments from
our people, brothers and friends. Politics of this country has now been
turned into a war, families are being divided, friends have become
enemies just because of seeking for political office,” he said.
The Sultan then prayed for peaceful and fair elections and wished Jonathan well in his endeavours.
