The Seventh Day Adventist Church has petitioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to move election day from Saturdays.
According to reports, about 4,817 petitioners, under the petition, titled “General Elections and the Religious Rights of Seventh-Day Sabbath Keepers in Nigeria,” has asked INEC to stop fixing election days on Saturdays because it is a ‘critical day of worship and a date with God’ for them.
Reports say that the petition was started on Thursday by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Nigeria on the global change website, change.org.
The church requested that INEC should change the election calendar to any day between Monday and Thursday to give them the opportunity ‘to exercise their rights to freely participate in the election process.’
Part of the petition seen in The Punch reads “As a nation, we have managed to live with these differences over the last 58 years. And, like many other nations around the world, we are still striving for unity in diversity, Nigeria being a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country.
“As responsible citizens, we, therefore, call on all well-meaning Nigerians to join their voice with ours (Sabbath-keepers) in keeping elections away from Saturdays, at least to guarantee the inalienable rights of teaming members of our faith.
“As it is, we consider Saturday a date with God, yet we want to participate in our civic duties as patriotic citizens.”
“We believe that in the spirit of fairness, this right should not be denied us.”
The petition is coming barely 24 hours before the presidential and National Assembly elections slated to hold this Saturday