2015 : US Warns Of Tension In N’ Delta

The United States Consul-General, Jeffrey Hawkins, yesterday said the tension that is building up in the Niger Delta region ahead of the 2015 general elections has called for concern.
The Consul-General, who recalled that the region has a history of violence, said in Asaba, the Delta State capital, that the Independent National Electoral Commission and the police should be provided with support before parties primaries kick-off next month.While Hawkins said the United States would not keep mum over sponsorship of violence and intimidation during the elections, he condemned and described as “utterly unacceptable in a democratic society the threat of such actions”.
He maintained that the non-violence campaigns such as the Dawn in the Creeks initiative and the Vote Not Fight campaign, which the US has since keyed into, remained the watchword.He said the youths must be properly warned against destruction in 2015.Speaking to journalists in Asaba, Hawkins stressed the need for winners and losers to make peace in the spirit of sportsmanship instead of promoting violence.
He said: “We have already seen an uptick in political jockeying among supporters of various candidates and a rise in political affiliated violence across the Niger Delta.”I can say with little doubt that security and stability will continue to be a challenge in the months to come.”Nigerian democracy will grow stronger when parties and candidates accept that their defeats are not wholly a result of the malfeasance of their opponent or opponents’ supporters.
”Mature leaders should concede defeat publicly as was done in the Ekiti by-elections.”Although, Hawkins acknowledged that politicians and candidates hold much of the power to determine whether political contests become violent or otherwise, he however said: “Drawing on or threatening violence to garner an advantage over an opponent or in retaliation against another’s misconduct severely undermines the democratic process.”

Chairman, RIWAMA, Mr Ade Adeogun (right) conferring with the Manager, Public and Govt Affairs, BRT, Onne Mobil Production, Mr Adeyemi Fakayejo (left) and Rivers State Commissioner for Chieftaincy and Community Affairs, Mr Charles Okaye, during the donation of refuse compartor truck to RIWAMA in Port Harcourt, last Wednesday. Photo: Chris Monyanaga