Ahead of the February 14 general elections, a group, All Governorship Candidates Forum of Nigeria, has called for free, fair and credible polls.

Mr Tiamiyu Kamorudeen, chairman of the forum and the governorship candidate of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) in Kwara State, said this in a statement made available to newsmen yesterday in Abuja.

He said that free and fair elections would prevent the orgy of post-election violence often associated with election irregularities.

"Our main objective is to mobilise our members and Nigerians in general to identify themselves with the vision of a peaceful, safe, great, prosperous and indivisible Nigeria," he stressed.

He said the forum is committed to building of bridges across political parties irrespective of ethnic and religious divide.

Kamorudeen said that the forum would create an atmosphere where those who lose election would accept the result and join hands with the winners to deepen democratic process.

He said that the forum was established to encourage cross-fertilisation of ideas on delivering selfless service and good governance to Nigerians at all levels.

He commended the maturity and absence of violence displayed to date by all political parties, while calling on political parties to intensify issue-based campaigns.

The forum called on security agencies to ensure effective prevention and control of any kind of violence and also ensure that human lives and property were protected throughout the country.