Ahead of the February 25 presidential election, former President Goodluck Jonathan has urged politicians not to seek power at all costs but to eschew hatred and violence and embrace true sportsmanship, during and after the poll.
“To politicians, this is a time to be circumspect in our actions and work towards consolidating our democracy,” the former Nigerian leader said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Power is sought and held in trust to be selflessly exercised in the interest of the people, and seeking it at all costs negates this ideal and projects politicians in a bad light.”
“Let us eschew hatred and violence and display true sportsmanship, during and after the poll.”
In the statement signed by the ex-President’s Special Adviser, Ikechukwu Eze, Jonathan also counseled youths not to be used as agents of violence and destruction in the February 25 and March 11 polls but to be “key partners in the nation-building.”
Eighteen presidential candidates are jostling for Aso Rock’s top job in Saturday’s election.
Political violence has been recorded at the rallies of some of the leading parties, fueling concerns about the safety of voters at the polls.
Jonathan was Nigeria’s president between May 2010 and May 2015.
The then flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), however, lost his reelection to Muhammadu Buhari, the then candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015.
