Polls: Jonathan votes in Bayelsa and condemns violence at the polls

Former President Goodluck Jonathan says that the next group of politicians should be chosen by the people of Nigeria through the democratic process, and not by the court system.

He spoke on Saturday, after he had voted in the election for governor and the state assembly. The former governor of Bayelsa State and his wife, Patience, went to vote in Otuoke, which is in the state’s Ogbia Local Government Area (LGA).

“I think Nigerians have decided they need to choose their own leaders,” he told reporters. “Any country where the people can’t choose their leaders by voting is doomed.”

“So, we need to set up a system where the ballots decide who leads us, not the courts, whether it’s the president, governors, or parliamentarians. The leaders should be chosen by the votes.”

Jonathan said that the Bayelsa elections on March 18 went well and praised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). He also said that it was wrong for thugs to burn election materials in four wards in Constituency 2 in the Ogbia LGA.

“In terms of the general security of the elections, it is peaceful here but I am disturbed because, within my local government, I learnt that the state constituency 2, there were crises and materials have been burnt,” he stated.

The former President told security agencies to find the people who did this right away and put them on trial. He also said that nobody should mess with Nigeria’s voting system.

“The police need to make sure that they catch everyone involved. If they feel like they are being threatened, they should go to the governor and ask for help from the military.

“Everyone who took part in that act must be caught and brought to justice, and we are all watching. If the police don’t do that, we will be really upset. No one should mess up the way we vote.

“The country is moving forward, and a few bad guys can’t stop it. Nigeria is being watched by everyone.”

(TNT)