Professor Odinkalu said during an interview with media that the election is the only way to guarantee peace in the country, stressing that any further postponement would make Nigeria lose the mandate to win the ongoing war against insurgency and terrorism.
The forum which focused on how the citizens can ensure a peaceful process, was organised by the United States Embassy in Abuja.
Odinkalu said that despite being at war, the elections must hold to foreclose the risk of generalizing the problem. He also said that confining the soldiers in the barracks during elections was not an option if Nigerians are to be safe while voting.
According to him, the use of soldiers is a non-negotiable obligation, noting that they would be needed to protect Nigerians in the face of the current security challenges.
He, however, added that there must be ground rules for their involvement in the elections.
Professor Odinkalu also stressed the need for the INEC to ensure further credibility by verifying all PVC collection that are up to 80% in any state.
He called on politicians to stop the attempts to undermine the electoral body and in effect the elections, noting that the INEC has a task to execute and ought to be allowed to do it.
The U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador James Entwistle, also added that post-election attitude is vital to the overall success of the elections."
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