Nigerians in S/Africa urge compatriots to have faith in incoming govt

The Nigerian Citizens Association South Africa (NICASA) has urged fellow citizens to have faith in the incoming government following the successful conduct of the March 5 Presidential and National Assembly Elections.

The President-General of NICASA, Mr Benjamin Okoli, gave the advice in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

He said the outcome at the polls should be a reflection of the choice of Nigerians.

“Our expectation is that the elections should reflect the will of the Nigerians and we hope the conduct of elections will improve in the future.

“Nigerians deserve to have the best in terms of election preparations and implementation.

“What we have seen so far lives so much to be desired.

“This is because of ballot box snatching as seen on social media.

“We hope the incoming administration will address all issues and improve the performance of INEC in the next dispensation.

“We hope Nigerians will be happy with the outcome and pray they accept the outcome of the polls in good fate.

“There is no point strangling the peace of the country because of the election.

“We want Nigeria to have peace and pray for peace to be consolidated. We pray that Nigerians should have faith in the government that is about to come.”

According to him, Nigerian citizens in the Diaspora, especially those living in South Africa are at the forefront of calls for electronic voting in the nation’s elections.

He said it was a good development that it was implemented.

He also said that they were at the forefront of calls for Nigerians abroad to be allowed to vote, but decried failure to implement such.

“We have other countries in Africa whose citizens abroad were allowed to vote during their elections, like South Africa, Kenya, and other African countries

“Nigeria has what it takes to implement this, so we in South Africa will continue to push for Diaspora voting; we hope that will be considered by the next government administration and next assembly.

“They should be able to put it into consideration and enact it into law, for Diasporas to vote.

“We are all Nigerians and contribute massively to the development of the Nigerian economy, and our contribution should not be disregarded.

“We should be recognised as well because we are Nigerians; we trust in Nigeria as our fatherland and have a firm belief that Nigerians will make that happen.”

He revealed that Nigerians in South Africa are following with keen interest every step of the electoral process in the country through social media and on mainstream television.

“We hope the right candidates emerge winners and that the wishes of Nigerians stand; the general election is a yardstick for Nigeria’s glory.

“This is because African countries are watching Nigeria as the most populous black nation in the world.

“We are the determinant in the economic growth in Africa, especially in the Sub-Saharan, so we are at the forefront of economic policy and what happens for Africa to grow.

“It will mean that whoever emerges as the next President of Nigeria has lots of work to do, in terms of integrating the African economy and leveraging the benefits to Nigeria.

“As well as making sure Nigeria benefits from greater trade in Africa.”

He, however, said that there was no issue related to killings or violent crimes between South African and Nigerians, as of the time this report was filed.