UN applauds Nigeria for maturity over polls postponement

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon on Tuesday applauded President Goodluck Jonahan, the political parties and Nigerians for the maturity they exhibited in following the postponement of the 2015 general elections.
The UN secretary-general gave the applause in a message delivered through his Special Representative for West Africa, Mohammed Ibn-Chambas, when he visited President Jonathan in Abuja.
The envoy, accompanied by former Head of state Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, spoke with State House correspondents after a closed door meeting with the President.
``The secretary-general wished me to commend Mr President, other leaders of the political parties and Nigerians as a whole for the maturity that has been demonstrated so far in this whole preparations towards general elections which are now scheduled later in March.
``We saw first of all the primaries; there was a lot of speculation about how they will go. They transpired in a very calm and peaceful manner.
``The campaigns STARTED and again Nigerians have demonstrated a lot of maturity in the general manner in which the campaigns have taken place.
``Naturally in periods such as this there will be heightened tension and heightened rhetoric. But on the whole we have seen very little violence associated with this process.

NAN/AM