Elections: “We Never Take Side, We Do Take Side With Peace”, Says US Envoy

Symington stated this on Saturday when he visited Governor Aminu Bello Masari at his residence in Katsina. He said: “We never have a candidate in the elections. Our candidate is always the place and the process of their own elections. We never take side. But, we do take side with peace.” He expressed the hope that as the people looks forward to participate in next week’s elections, “every single one would recognise that security is fundamental, not just to freedom, but also to posterity. “Security is not the job of the security forces alone. But, everyone in the state regardless of our party and who the candidate is, stopping things from happening is all that matters and the fundamental challenges of the citizenry.” He called on everyone to work together to ensure that peace reigned in the state before, during and after the elections. “Elections come and go. Our nations remain and regardless of what happens in any elections, we will be committed to works ongoing in areas like health, security and economic opportunities,” he concluded. Masari, in response, assured all political parties of a level playing ground ahead of Saturday’s governorship and state Assembly elections. Masari, who noted that even the opposition parties were provided facilities to address their supporters as offered to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the recently concluded election, said his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) ran a hitch-free campaigns in the 34 local government areas to achieve its objectives. According to him, during the exercise, there was no violence recorded and no offensive instruments were carried during the entire tour of the campaigns. “The state did not witness any violence after the February 23 Presidential and National Assembly elections,” he said, adding that after the 2015 general elections, the Emir of Katsina promised and guaranteed the security of both indigenes and others.]]>