Nigeria assures international community of credible poll

The Nigerian government said it remains committed to the conduct of a violence-free, fair and credible general election.

The West African country also assured Friday that the February general election would be held as scheduled, Xinhua reported.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Aminu Wali said that even though there might be a few hitches in the preparation, the international community should be assured that President Goodluck Jonathan remains committed to the conduct of a credible general election.

The Peace Accord signed by all the presidential candidates last week to ensure peaceful conduct at the poll attest to this, he reaffirmed.

He said the government would ensure a secure atmosphere for the election, in view of the Boko Haram attacks in the north-east region.

Wali said insurgency would have been overcome if Nigeria had got the desired collaboration from the international community.

He said Nigeria's lost territories are being recovered by the nation's military.

Wali added the country had wanted a multi-national regional force to become operational but regretted that certain logistics had prevented its operation.

He urged the UN to give the necessary assistance to Nigeria, saying the militant group's activities were capable of destabilizing West Africa and Africa unless Nigeria got the required cooperation.

Earlier, Wali received the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for West Africa and for Nigeria, Mohammed Chambas

Chambas said Nigeria is important for the sub-region, the region and the world at large, adding that this was responsible for his designation as Special Representative to West Africa and also Nigeria.

The special envoy acknowledged Nigeria's contributions to peacekeeping operations, saying it is Nigeria's special status that had attracted world attention to its election.

He said the Secretary-General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon, and the UN Security Council, consider Boko Haram's atrocities as crimes against humanity that would be investigated and sent to the International Criminal Court.