Pro-democracy group warns against interim government

AHEAD of the May 29 handover date, members of the pro-democracy group, Nigerians United for Democracy (NUD), has warned against the installation of an interim government in place of a democratically elected one.

   Spokesperson of the group, Mr. Ezenwo Nwagu, who addressed journalists in Abuja yesterday, urged those mooting the idea of a coup de-tat to discard it in the interest of the country’s democracy.

   Nwagu maintained that there was still cause to worry as the body language of President Goodluck Jonathan and top functionaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) suggest that the rescheduled dates for the presidential and governorship elections might not be sacrosanct.

   According to him, their skepticism followed the service chiefs’ refusal to assure the nation that security would be provided on the new election dates in order to douse the concerns raised by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, when he appeared before the Senate last week.

   Flanked by other pro-democracy activists, Nwagu said it behooves well meaning Nigerians to prevail on the authorities to ensure that the polls hold amicably. Assuring that NUD will continue with its rallies in Abuja, Kano, Lagos, Osogbo, Port Harcourt and Owerri to condemn “the conspiracy of the ruling clique against Nigerians,” he justified the action thus: “We need to prevent a slide into anarchy, we need to take our destiny in our hands.