Traditional rulers sue for peace in A/Ibom
The Akwa Ibom state Council of Chiefs has called on all political parties in the state as well as their members and candidates to conduct themselves peacefully to avoid violence during Saturday’s gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections.
The council made this known during an enlarged meeting of the state council of chiefs on the current tense political situation in the state.
Speaking on behalf of the council, Chairman of the Akwa Ibom state Council of Chiefs, His Royal Majesty, Ntoeng Udo Effiong Akpan, said “Akwa Ibom state council of chiefs in concert with this enlarged assembly of traditional rulers admonish all political parties and their members, including their candidates and associates to completely eschew violence, thuggery, ill-utterances, political verbosity and other vices which are capable of hurting one another or likely to cause chaos in the state.
“Akwa Ibom state needs peaceful elections and our conduct, individually and collectively, must be to aid a smooth process and not to impair it. We wish to sound it loudly that election is not war, but a period that the citizens have in choosing their leaders.”
The monarch stated that the council has watched the political tension in the state as well as the incursion of external conspirators and agent provocateurs to subdue the will of the people in a bid to capture power at all cost, adding that these ignoble acts must be condemned in its totality.
“We have watched and noticed the unnecessary tension introduced to our state by political actors who desire to capture power at all cost. We have also noted the incursions of external conspirators and agent provocateurs to thwart the will of the people. These ignoble acts must be condemned in its totality by right thinking persons,” he said.
