The Sultan of Sokoto and President of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, on Thursday called on Nigerians to protect their votes in the elections scheduled for Saturday.
He gave the charge in Abuja during the 2019 Murtala Muhammed Memorial Lecture, organised by the Murtala Muhammed Foundation, with the theme, “Towards credible, peaceful and participatory election – Moving Nigeria’s democracy forward.”
Abubakar said, “Why so much concern about the presidential election in Nigeria especially by foreign partners? We need to ask ourselves. But the simple issue is that Nigeria’s 200 million population is such a big concern to everybody.
“The reason is that the survival of Nigeria is so important to the world that everybody must come together to see credible and peaceful elections in Nigeria where whoever emerges will be accepted by all and must be accepted by all.”
The Sultan said that those at the top felt they were at the top and so controlled everything, stressing that it should be the people who should be in control of everything.
The monarch said, “That is why I want to call on Nigerians go out exercise your rights, vote for the candidate you feel is best for you and ensure you protect your vote.”