GOVERNOR Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State yesterday declared Nigeria a deliberate design of God, warning therefore against any attempt at threatening the corporate existence of the nation.

Ahmed, while declaring open in Ilorin the Kwara Peace Summit convened by his wife, Omolewa, said successive events had shaken Nigeria's foundation in the past but God's intervention at such trying times should serve as enough warning to agents of destabilisation.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has again demanded the full implementation of the reports of the Justice Mohammed Uwais Electoral Reform Panel. The party said that with the way the electoral system is structured and the way the current INEC was conducting its affairs, it is afraid that Nigeria was walking several miles away from free, fair and credible elections, while other African countries have sanitised their processes and moved on to have credible polls.

For Ahmed, every public office holders in the country must always give to the people true benefits of democracy, noting that the development would gainfully engage the youths and thus reduce their inclination to violence.

He added, "we should not take laws into our hands no matter the level of provocation. God did not commit an error by creating us in different colours, and giving us different ways of worshipping Him. He made us into tribes and nations wanting us to exhibit the best conduct of love and tolerance. We cannot fight for God, He is capable of fighting for Himself. At all times, we should remember that our stay on earth is tenured.”

He reiterated the commitment of his administration to encourage the virtues of love, tolerance and peace at all times from all the people of the state towards churning out to them dividends of democracy.

The governor noted during the event attended by students, market women, members of various professional unions, and politicians, "peace and progress are the two virtues we need to pursue vigorously in our country and in particular our state.

In a statement by the Lagos State ACN's Publicity Secretary, Joe Igbokwe, the party said that it was at a loss as to why the reports of the Uwais Panel has been left in the dustbin while cases of shoddy elections and election manipulation continue to predominate the conduct of elections in Nigeria.

It added that the country stands to wobble and totter on the brinks of disaster if the issue of reforming the electoral systems was continually  ignored, while neighbouring countries make giant and recognisable strides in credible electoral conduct.

"We have had cause to raise our fears about the country's shoddy electoral body and the composition of INEC, which is still being filled by the Presidency in utter violation of principles of fair and just electoral conduct.

"We know that the Uwais report was very straightforward on the constitution of INEC by independent members that will ensure fairness to all parties in every election. We note that after a strident effort by the PDP to relegate and ignore the recommendations of the panel, the reports were thrown to the dustbin while the PDP continues nominating people with deep allegiance to the party as members of INEC in the hope that elections would continue to be fraudulent and it will continue gaining from it.”