October 3, (THEWILL) – The Patriots Roundtable, an Independent Support Group for Tinubu/Shettima ticket has called on Nigerians to allow for a peaceful campaign without malice as the Presidential/ National Legislative Campaigns kicked off across the country last Wednesday.
The group, in its maiden newsletter titled, ‘Let’s embrace peaceful campaign’ which was signed by its National Coordinator, Prince Uthman Shodipe-Dosunmu and made available to THEWILL on Monday, said the campaign should be carried out with total adherence to peace and no recourse to violence.
It said that its stand and objective was predicated on the “unifying core of the Nigerian state where truth, justice, fairness and equitable balance are the guiding principles”
The group stressed that no nation endures for long without a “unifying sense of national cohesive balance and without a common value and defined destination,” which it described as the real challenge as Nigerians proceed on a new journey in the quest for national renewal and revalidation.
It said, “The grapple ahead of the 2023 elections is now firm and sure. The race has started. The major protagonists and their acolytes are flung on the democratic field , maneuvering, strategizing, coupling up their playbook to clinch the ultimate trophy.
“The Aso Rock Villa is the crowning jewel that the presidential candidates seek with passion. But there can be only one President. There can be only one unifying leadership. All Nigerians have the right to make a choice without intimidation, without the threat of the cudgel or the recourse to the goon squad.
“We urge all Nigerians that this campaign should be carried out with total adherence to peace without recourse to violence”.
The group noted that democracy is about the genuine mandate of the ballot box.
“It is about the peaceful process of electing the leadership of our much challenged republic. It’s about repositioning our nation into the ambit of an enlightened, peaceful realm. That’s what validates democracy’s moral supremacy over autocracy or dictatorship,” it said.
The Patriots Roundtable said it has made a choice in the approbation of the presidential ticket of Tinubu -Shettima “because we have resolved that inherent in this pan-Nigerian ticket is the widening of the democratic space, the cultivation of talented men and women to enhance our economic growth and prosperity, to ensure the banishment of banditry , the eclipse of lawlessness and the strengthening of the general welfare.
“This is the Tinubu -Shettima vision as expressed in their manifesto that we embrace, that we cultivate and encourage Nigerians to give it a hearing. The journey has started. Let’s walk together on this patriotic path.
About the Author
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.
