A labour leader and governorship candidate of Labour Party in Kwara state, Comrade Issa Aremu on Thursday urged Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state to retract his ‘body bags’ statement.
He said no amount of provocation “should let us slide into violent verbal attacks on each other”.
Speaking at an occasion to mark Valentine Day in Lagos, the governorship hopeful said politicians should make love speech and not death wishes.
“These elections must produce people’s choices that would eradicate poverty, illiteracy and hunger not “body bags”.
However, the labour leader urged election observers to remain as observers and not monitors as advised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“Elections must produce winners and losers, but once there is good governance all of us are winners in a democracy”, he added.
Aremu urged the people of Kwara state to deploy their votes “to put an end to PDP’s 16 years rule in a peaceful election starting this weekend”.
“Only living voters vote. Only living candidates that win would govern. Mallam El-Rufai, the Governor of Kaduna state must use today in the spirit of love retract his “body bags” statement”.
He expressed confidence in the capacity of INEC and the security agencies “to ensure free and fair elections. This is the 6th Democratic transition in Nigeria (other elections took place in 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015). Nigeria and Kwara had done it before successfully and peacefully. We will do it again”.
“All political parties and candidates in Kwara state should go to the polls with love for ourselves and our dear state with love. Let there be votes and vote counting not violence”, he added.
The labour leader also urged other political parties to emulate the Labour Party which he said conducted its primaries without rancour and acrimony.
