Entertainment Practitioners Urges Buhari To Halt Spate Of Insecurity, Attacks On INEC Facilities

 

The umbrella body of entertainers in Nigeria, Association of Entertainment Practitioners, Abuja has called on President Muhammadu Buhari, service chiefs, heads of security and intelligence organizations to step up efforts to enhance the security of all Nigerians.

While decrying attacks on INEC facilities across the country, particularly Imo state, the body said if this is not brought under control, the upcoming elections may come under threat and will jeopardize the peace and stability of the country.

"As we look forward to the general elections this year we decry the state of insecurity and call on the Commander in Chief of Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to step up his security operations and stop the spate of attacks on the facilities of the election umpire in order not to threaten the success of the polls.

"A stable Nigeria is necessary to promote our business and to ensure self sustenance of our youths. We condemn in totality the recent abduction or kidnapping of innocent Nigerians at a train state in Edo state and other regions of the country. These are visible threats to our unity as a nation", President of the body, Chief Agility Onwurah said in an address to newsmen in Abuja.

The body which is a coalition of all the entertainment bodies in Nigeria which includes Actors Guild of Nigeria; Association of Movie Producers, Directors Gud of Nigeria; Deejays Association; Abuja Body of Comedians; Association of Beauty Pageant and Fashion Exhibition Organisers of Nigeria , Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria and several other organizations that are into entertainment also said it is a critical stakeholder in the Nigerian project, going by a large number of employment it has created among young Nigerians as well as its contributions to the nation's gross domestic product, GDP.

While appealing to all stakeholders to work assiduously to ensure that the upcoming election is not averted in order not to truncate the nation's peace, the association called on youths not to make themselves available as disruptive elements in the hands political actors.

"We call on our youths to resist the temptation to be used by anarchists to cause problems in Nigeria as that could throw Nigeria into the biggest humanitarian crisis on earth and challenge the security forces to deal decisively with anyone found in a position capable of derailing our common objective as a nation which is "unity, peace and progress".

"As law abiding citizens we are poised to playing our part in ensuring a united Nigeria for our future and next generation therefore we are calling on all Nigerians to take advantage of this PVC collection window to get theirs and actively participate in the forthcoming elections. We call on political parties and the electorate to actively participate in the elections in order to give it the credibility it deserves" Chief Onwurah said.