A Prelate of Methodist Church, Most-Rev. Samuel Uche has cautioned Ndigbo against boycotting the forthcoming 2019 general elections, stressing that the move being championed by the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu would be counterproductive.
According to NAN, Most-Rev. Samuel Uche made the call on Monday during a press conference in Umuahia, the Abia State capital. He was reacting to call for the boycott of the elections by Kanu. Kanu had urged Ndigbo to only allow the conduct of referendum in the region, to determine the region's continued membership of the Nigerian federation.
“I do not like the idea of Ndigbo boycotting the general elections. It would amount to shooting ourselves in the foot.
“If Ndigbo boycott the elections, other sections of Nigeria would still go ahead to elect leaders for the country during the polls. What Nigeria need as a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and multi-religious country is just a mature leader not a bigot.”
He also appealed to the leadership of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a free, fair and credible election to avert any possible crisis.
“INEC must ensure fairness in the conduct of the elections. Let the best candidate win, irrespective of his or her political party.
“All I want is credible elections. Any person that won should be declared, whether Muslim of Christian.
“There should not be any intimidation by security operatives and manipulation of results. Let the votes count,”
