By Ahmed Tukur
Lafia
Nasarawa state governor’s wife, Hajiya Salamatu Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, yesterday appealed to the people of the state to shun violence during the forthcoming general elections.
Mrs. Al-Makura made the plea in Lafia at the end of her state-wide campaign for this year’s general elections.
She cautioned politicians to avoid the temptation of using children to perpetuate heinous act for their selfish reasons.
She also appealed to eligible voters in the state to protect their votes.
She said: “I had gone round all the 13 local government and 16 Development Areas and visited all the nocks and crannies of the state in this direction.
“The focus of my campaign was the youths, where I admonished them to shun all forms of violence, before, during and after the general election as well as enlighten the people on the need to go and collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
“The youth are most vibrant section of the population of the country who are also in the majority, as such they should not allow any selfish politician to use them and perpetrate violence.”
The state’s First Lady also warned that there were some unpatriotic Nigerians were unleashing terror and violence on their fellow compatriots in the bit of seeking transient power.
Al-Makura said the call was necessary in order to ensure free, fair and acceptable elections in the country.
She appealed to all eligible voters to protect their votes and to ensure that their votes count during the general election in order to ensure good governance for the overall development of the country.
According to her, the era in which voters would vote and leave their polling units was gone and she urged the voters to vote only candidates of unquestionable characters in order to enjoy more dividends of democracy.
She also used the tour to call on the eligible voters to use the opportunity of the shift in the date of the election to massively collect their PVC’s at the INEC designated centres.
“Our permanent voter card is our right and weapon to elect credible and God-fearing leaders of our choice, as such we should all strive to ensure we collect it,” she added.
Mrs. Al-Makura equally challenged women to contest for elective positions in order to have a say in the affairs of the state and the nation.
She appealed to the people of Nasarawa to support Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura’s APC-led administration and re-elect him in order to deliver more dividends of democracy to the people of the state.