The National Chairman of the Labour Party, Barrister Julius Abure has charged party supporters nationwide to consider themselves as party agents in whatever polling unit they are voting on Saturday.
He expressed gratitude to party members and supporters for standing firm by the party despite several attempts to intimidate and bully them.
At a media briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, Abure said that ordinary Nigerians deserve commendation for their resilience in the face of daunting challenges in terms of the economy which is spiraling out of control and the collapse of other sectors such as security, education, and health among others.
He however said: “All the support that Nigerians have given to us either in cash or in kind will actually amount to nothing if they are not translated to votes.
“I, therefore, want to urge all our supporters that on the 25th of this month which is Saturday, they should all come out en mass to cast their votes for the Labour Party.
“I am aware that some sponsored persons especially in the South East are being paid and sponsored by opposition political parties to continue to threaten citizens not to come out to vote, deployed to deliberately reduce our vote.
“We, therefore, want to plead with our supporters that they should come out in their numbers wherever they are, to come out and vote.
“It is a mere threat to stop them from or to instil fear in them, to prevent them from coming out to vote.
“Secondly, we have been assured by the security agencies that they are on top of the matter. They have assured us that they will guarantee security for the people.
“I, therefore, want to call on all our supporters, that they must not be discouraged, they must all come out and vote for the party.
“All the support that we got, if they are not translated to votes, come Saturday, it would have amounted to effort in futility.
“ I want to say clearly that all supporters of the Labour Party and Peter Obi must realise that they are all agents of the party.
“The responsibility to defend our votes, the responsibility to act as agents should not be left in the hands of accredited party agents alone.
“If you are a supporter of Peter Obi, if you are a supporter of any of the candidates of the Labour Party, if you are a supporter of the party, you must therefore be an agent for the party on that day of the election.
“I will therefore expect that you will not only go to the polling booth to cast your vote but have a responsibility to also defend your votes.
“We appeal to you to vote, be on stand-by, keep an eye on INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) officials, keep an eye on security agencies, keep an eye even on the accredited party agents so that you can provide checks and balances on whatever is being done.
“You have the responsibility to question any activity that you find will compromise the processes of this election.
“I am therefore saying that all our supporters all polling unit agents. In order wards, you are one of our ambassadors, you are one of those who will help us to stand and defend our votes”.
The Labour Party National Chairman noted that the “opportunity we have today in this country has never been available”.
He declared that, “we have never had this opportunity where the activities of a political party, the activities of an individual candidate is driven by the people.
“This is the very first time that the people will be having a say, this is the very first time that people will be having a voice.
“I want to urge you that we must not allow this opportunity to elude us. We must take our destiny in our hands realizing the fact that opportunity lost can never be recovered. Nigerians must rise to the occasion.
“Our own supporters must rise to the occasion and ensure that their dream of having a new Nigeria, a Nigeria that guarantees security, a Nigeria that has service delivery to its people, a Nigeria that will be free from poverty, from hunger, from unemployment.
“A Nigeria that will be free from the paradox of where you have crude oil yet you import petroleum products, pay subsidy and all the attendant cost.
“A Nigeria that truly will be in tandem with the mission and vision of the founding fathers on Nigeria”.
He expressed the Labour Party’s confidence in INEC. Abure said the party was confident that the election management body would do the right thing.
“I, therefore, want to use this opportunity to appeal to INEC that the standard they have laid, the integrity they have built over the year, they must crystalize it by their activities in this election.
“They must be patriotic and put the interest of the country first and beyond every other interest. They must avoid the temptation of allowing this election to be compromised”. he added.
He equally commended all the international observers that have interfaced with the party leadership as well as its candidate in the course of preparing for the election.
