NHRC endorses Buhari for second term

The Nigerian Human Right Community (NHRC) on Monday advised Nigerians not to be swayed in by mere promises but should have critical evaluation of the current and past administrations on the affairs of the country as a determinant on who to cast their vote for on February 16.

NHRC, a coalition of 135 civil society and Community Based Organizations (CBOs) made this known at a briefing in Maryland to declare its support for the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari and his Vice President, Prof Yemi Osibanjo.

Its Secretary, Taiwo Adeleye  noted that  with the two contending parties; the All Progressives Congress(APC) and the People’s Democratic Party(PDP), and other parities in the race, it is a difficult and delicate choice as Nigerians are expected to pick the candidates that best aggregates their interest.

He said the sensitivity of the election was necessary to remind the electorates to vote according to their conscience that would advance their course as citizens of the country.

“This is coming about 11 days to the presidential election in Africa’s most populous country of 170million people. There is no way you will go and vote without having made up your mind on who you want to vote for especially concerning a presidential election. We are now telling the electorates that before you go out there to vote, apart from seeking to know your conscience, what exactly is your conscience telling you? You need to look back, compare the two administrations; the past and the present, which is better off, which one would advance your course, your children and probably your generation.

“We consider one major factor: the personal credibility of the two leading contenders.  It will be worst to have a man that has no iota of credibility at home and abroad to sit as the number one citizen of the country. It will be disastrous to have a proven corrupt man as the most important figure in Nigeria. We believe with the credibility of Buhari and Osibanjo, their errors of recent past can be corrected in the most honest manner” he said.

He noted that the 2015 election marked the first attempt to create a paradigm shift from corruption which has been synonymously known with the country.

He explained that though there have been many  societal issues retained and new ones sprouting up since 2015, the country has experienced onward movement in the last three and half years of the Buhari’s administration.

Affirming that the two contending parties APC and PDP stand the potential of winning the 2019 presidential election, he said NHRC nurse the fear that returning the country to Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the PDP and his supporters like General Ibrahim Babaginda, Olusegun Obasanjo and others would be a costly mistake.

“In our view, a return to the locust years will be disastrous for the future of Africa’s most famous country. As civil right movements that have fought a string of battles since three years of the military, we have historic responsibility to ensure this does not happen. We cannot fold our hands in midst of a deluge of options. We need to galvanize our members along a better path in the search for a greater country.

Adeleye also lend his voice on the removal of the Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Walter Onnoghen, cautioned that the crisis in the judiciary has the potential of damaging the democratic credentials of the country.  He added that the accusations levied against Onnoghen are clear cases of corruption involving the highest judicial personnel in the country.

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Hon Wale Arogundade, Director General of Babajide Olushola Sanwo-Olu Ambassadors (BOSA) remarked that there have been great achievements since President Buhari took charge of the country in areas such as, Agriculture, rail development, attitudinal changes of the youths and the fight against corruption. “Buhari is putting the country in the right direction, so we believe that giving him a second chance is very important. We want people to go out and vote for Buhari”.

The President of the Liberty Movement of Nigeria, Edward Olusola Ajayi   said given the score card of the president as against the 16 unproductive years of the PDP, it was a modest contribution of the 135 civil society and community based organizations to take a position to work in line with the candidate that has proven worthy to be re-elected.