The National Coordinator of the forum, Com. Godwin Meliga, made this known in a statement after the group converged on the Unity Fountain, Abuja, where they held intercessory prayers for President Bola Tinubu, the 36 state governors and all others in positions of authority in the country.
A non-governmental organisation, the National Unity Forum, on Sunday, said the success and credibility of the 2023 general elections prevented those with sinister motives from orchestrating post-poll violence in the country.
The National Coordinator of the forum, Com. Godwin Meliga, made this known in a statement after the group converged on the Unity Fountain, Abuja, where they held intercessory prayers for President Bola Tinubu, the 36 state governors and all others in positions of authority in the country.
The group lauded the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, for living above board during the 2023 general elections.
According to the statement, the group particularly prayed for the success and well-being of Yakubu and described his position as pivotal to the sustenance, growth and development of Nigeria’s democracy.
Meliga said the group's decision to resort to prayers to God as a way out of the myriad challenges confronting the nation was informed by the time-tested efficacy of prayer, and guided by scriptural injunctions as contained in 1 Timothy 2:1-2, thus: ‘I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives...’
“After the session of prayers, worship and thanksgiving at the Unity Fountain, the group embarked on a solidarity walk to the Headquarters of INEC in Maitama, where they specifically prayed for the Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, and the success of all subsequent elections in Nigeria.
“The group thanked Prof. Yakubu and his team for their strident efforts at ensuring the success and credibility of the 2023 General Elections.
“It opined that given the tensed state of the national polity prior to the last general elections, due mainly to socio-ethnic and geopolitical diversities, any attempt by INEC to have delivered a compromised electoral process could have triggered violent upheavals across the country, which may have threatened the very fabrics of our mutual coexistence.
"But the fact that INEC, under Prof. Yakubu, was obviously above board in the discharge of its mandate during the last general elections, helped to a great extent in disarming all those nursing sinister intentions for the country, including all those who may wish to capitalize on the outbreak of widespread electoral violence to achieve their narrow destabilization agenda for Nigeria," Meliga said.
He said the group which comprised Christians and Muslims has also set aside February 25 every year as its National Intercession Day.
It therefore enjoined all patriotic citizens of Nigeria, regardless of their faith, to consider it a civic obligation to spare some moments on February 25 every year to join their hearts in prayers to God for national peace, unity and progress.
Meliga further stated that while other Nigerians may resort to acts of self-denial, civil disobedience and open protests to express their disenchantment with the prevailing socio-economic and political challenges facing Nigeria, his group resorted to praying because it was the best option for the country at the moment, citing the book of Job 12:23 -25, “He (God) makes nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations and dispenses them.”
Meanwhile, a group of aggrieved Nigerians had designated February 25, 2024, a year after the presidential election, to hurl insults at Yakubu.
They lambasted Yakubu on social media and accused him of manipulating the election to ensure Bola Tinubu’s victory.
According to them, the rightful winner of the election was Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP).