Candidates vying for chairmanship position in the Kuje Area Council elections, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have called on their supporters to shun violence.

They made the call on Saturday in respective interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kuje, ahead of the March 19 council polls.

Mr Haruna Yerima, the chairmanship candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) said that stakeholders in the polls must facilitate credible election.

He called on his supporters to embark on peaceful campaign, devoid of calumny and violence.

Yerima attributed electoral violence to desperate politicians in pursuit of power without considering the lives of the electorates.

“We have been passing the message to the youths never to be used as an instrument of war but promoters of peace.

“There is no budget for thugs or miscreants in the agenda of APGA and we have nothing to give them.

“We are telling our supporters to be orderly and avoid anything that would cause violence during campaigns,’’ he said.

Similarly, the All Progressives Congress chairmanship candidate, Mr Abdullahi Galadima admonished the political class to be careful with their utterances.

He said utterances of office seekers at campaign grounds must not be provocative and they must present themselves as agents of positive change to the nation.

“A lot of political violence we have witnessed in recent past, were as a result of careless utterances of politicians inciting the electorate against one another.

“Politicians have to trust more in God as the giver of power and accept things in good fate, rather than making careless statement that could result into crisis.

“We should be mindful of what we say before the electorate; there is no reason why people should kill themselves because of politics,’’ he said.

The incumbent Chairman, Mr Shaban Tete of the Peoples Democratic Party, who is contesting for a second term, urged his supporters to shun electoral malpractices.

“We have called on the stakeholders to play their roles as expected of them, because if we do not do the right thing, we cannot achieve a credible election.

“Instead of going forward we will be going backward as a nation,’’ he said.

Tete promised to take his campaign to the wards level to address the challenge of political apathy which he said, hindered electoral growth