By Emmanuel Oloniruha
Young Progressives Party (YPP) Vice-Presidential Candidate, Ms Patience Key, has urged Nigerians to make peaceful, informed and courageous decisions during the 2027 general elections.
Key, in a statement to newsmen on Thursday in Abuja, urged voters to examine candidates’ records before deciding whom to elect.
She advised the electorate to choose leaders based on competence and capability in the interest of the country.
“Ask whether their decisions have protected lives, strengthened opportunity and delivered the services they promised.
“Use your votes to reject corruption, indifference and persistent failure and apply the same scrutiny to every party and candidate, including me.
“Power belongs to the Nigerian people.
Leadership is a responsibility entrusted by citizens, not a privilege that places officeholders above them,” she said.
Key, however, expressed confidence that the YPP presidential candidate, Dr Peter Agada, with whom she is running on a joint ticket, had the best policies and capacity to address the country’s challenges.
Reacting to a bill before the Senate seeking to criminalise attempted suicide, Key urged lawmakers to prioritise compassionate suicide-prevention reforms and take urgent action to address citizens’ economic hardship.
She said protecting citizens required addressing underlying socio-economic factors, including unemployment, loss of livelihoods, displacement and inflation, rather than treating people experiencing crises as criminals.
“I call on the President of the Senate, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, and members of the National Assembly to recognise that protecting Nigerians required more than debating what punishment should follow a suicide attempt.
“It requires confronting the circumstances that can leave people overwhelmed, economically stranded and unable to obtain the support they need,” Key said.
She cautioned against approaching individuals experiencing suicidal crises primarily through a punitive lens, adding that the government must not ignore circumstances that deepen despair before treating people in crisis as offenders.
Key commended Sen. Asuquo Ekpenyong and other lawmakers who sponsored a bill to decriminalise attempted suicide but faulted Akpabio’s position that the Act should remain a criminal offence.
“Criminalisation can make distressed people and their families afraid to seek assistance because of prosecution and stigma.
“Removing punishment is not an endorsement of suicide; it is a decision to make protection, treatment and recovery the priority,” she said.
Key also criticised what she described as the swift attention given to political leadership discussions by the National Assembly, while long-standing public-interest issues continued to suffer delays.
She cited years of stalled discussions on diaspora voting and delays in reviving the Ajaokuta Steel Complex as evidence of the need to refocus legislative attention.
“Public-interest reforms must not move at the pace of endless explanation while political interests receive immediate attention.
“Legislative consideration is necessary, but citizens cannot live on consideration alone,” Key said.
She urged the National Assembly to strengthen its oversight of healthcare, housing and industrial development.
“An appropriation for healthcare should become available care. Funding for industrial development should face scrutiny against credible production milestones,” she advised.
Key also urged Nigerians experiencing psychological distress to remember that their dignity remained intact and to seek assistance.
“To Nigerians experiencing emotional distress, I say this with compassion; your circumstances do not determine your worth. You deserve support, not humiliation.
“Seeking help is not weakness and access to care must never depend on political loyalty,” Key said.(NAN)(NAN)
OBE/FEO/AMM
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Edited by Francis Onyeukwu/Abiemwense Moru
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