The presidential candidate of the all People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Atiku Abubakar has reacted to the last minute shift in the dates for the conduct of the general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) saying the commission was being controlled remotely.
INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who addressed journalists in the wee hours of Saturday, had announced that the presidential and national assembly elections slated for today, Saturday February 16 would now hold on February 23 while the governorship and state parliamentary elections earlier scheduled for March 2 would hold on March 9.
“…The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) met on Friday, 15th February 2019 and reviewed its preparations for the 2019 general elections scheduled for Saturday, 16th February 2019.
“Following a careful review of the implementation of its logistics and operational plan and the determination to conduct free, fair and credible elections, the Commission came to the conclusion that proceeding with the elections as scheduled is no longer feasible.
“Consequently, the Commission has decided to reschedule the Presidential and National Assembly elections to Saturday, 23rdFebruary 2019.
“Furthermore, the governorship, state house of assembly and Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections are rescheduled to Saturday, 9th March 2019. This will afford the Commission the opportunity to address identified challenges in order to maintain the quality of our elections.
“This was a difficult decision for the Commission to take but necessary for the successful delivery of elections and a consolidation of our democracy.
“The Commission will meet with key stakeholders to update them on this development at 2p.m. on Saturday, 16th February 2019 at the Abuja International Conference Centre,” said Yakubu.
But Atiku, in a statement he personally signed and issued from Adamawa State where he was expected to cast his ballot stated that “this postponement is obviously a case of the hand of Esau but the voice of Jacob.
He alleged that the federal government had instigated the postponement. “Knowing that the Nigerian people are determined to reject them, they are desperate and will do anything in their power to avoid their rejection by the Nigerian people,” he said.
The statement reads: “As you know, the Independent National Electoral Commission has announced a postponement of the elections until 23 February and 9 March respectively.
“The Buhari administration has had more than enough time and money to prepare for these elections and the Nigerian people were poised and ready to perform their civic responsibility by voting in the elections earlier scheduled for Saturday, 16 February, 2019.
“This postponement is obviously a case of the hand of Esau but the voice of Jacob. By instigating this postponement, the Buhari administration hopes to disenfranchise the Nigerian electorate in order to ensure that turn out is low on the rescheduled date. Nigerians must frustrate their plans by coming out in even greater numbers on Saturday, 23 February and Saturday, 9 March respectively.
“Knowing that the Nigerian people are determined to reject them, they are desperate and will do anything in their power to avoid their rejection by the Nigerian people.
“Their plan is to provoke the public, hoping for a negative reaction, and then use that as an excuse for further anti-democratic acts.
As such, I call on all Nigerians to be patient. We have tolerated the maladministration of this government for four years. We can extend our tolerance a few more days and give them our verdict via our votes.”
“Maintain the peace and be law abiding. Do not react to this provocation with anger, violence or any action that might be exploited by those who do not want this election to hold. Remain calm. We will overcome this. You can postpone an election, but you cannot postpone destiny.
“Please come out to vote on Saturday, 23 February and Saturday, 9 March respectively. Frustrate those who do not want this election to hold by coming out in very large numbers. That is the best antidote to their plans.
“May God bless you and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
PDP accuses FG of arm-twisting INEC, Calls for Yakubu’s resignation
In his reaction, the national chairman of the PDP, Mr. Uche Secondus asked the INEC chairman to resign adding the postponement was Buhari’s deliberate and predetermined agenda to cling to power.
Secondus, in a statement issued by his spokesman, Mr. Ike Abonyi, said the party was privy to all the pressures from the APC and the federal government to “arm-twist the INEC, to dance to their new strategy after their earlier ones failed”.
“With several of their rigging options failing, they have to force INEC to agree to a shift in the election or a staggered election with flimsy excuses pre-manufactured for the purpose.
“For the avoidance of doubt the PDP sees this action as wicked and we are also aware of other dubious designs like the deployment of hooded security operatives who would be ruthless on the people ostensibly to scare them away,” Secondus said.
He added: “Having failed in all their nefarious options to enable them cling on to power, the APC and the INEC came up with the idea of shifting election, an action that is dangerous to our democracy and is therefore unacceptable.”
Secondus also said the “wicked killing” of over 60 persons mostly women and children in southern Kaduna on the eve of election “is a copious ploy by the APC to frighten the people away from voting knowing too well that they were not going to record any vote from the area”.
“Recall that the governor of Kaduna state, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai had earlier threatened international election observers of going to their country in body bags and with the fatal violence in the state on the eve of election, it’s clear what the motives are, to frighten the observers from the state so that he can carry out his nefarious acts,” he said.
Secondus also drew the attention to the statement of President Muhammadu Buhari that nobody can unseat him from office as an indication of what he wanted to do.
APC campaign council condemns INEC’s tardiness
In its reaction, the All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign council castigated INEC for its tardiness saying the federal government had “cooperated fully with INEC by ensuring everything it demanded to conduct free and fair elections were promptly made available to it.”
In a statement issued by the spokesman for the council, Mr. Festus Keyamo, the APC said: “We have just received with great disappointment and disillusionment the announcement by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of its decision to postpone the presidential/national assembly and gubernatorial/house of assembly elections to Saturday, February 23, 2019 and Saturday, March 9, 2019, respectively.
“We condemn and deprecate this tardiness of the electoral umpire in the strongest terms possible. President Muhammadu Buhari had since cooperated fully with INEC by ensuring EVERYTHING it demanded to conduct free and fair elections were promptly made available to it. This news is therefore a huge disappointment to us and to our teeming supporters nationwide and around the world, many of whom have come into the country to exercise their franchise.
“We do hope that INEC will remain neutral and impartial in this process as the rumor mill is agog with the suggestion that this postponement has been orchestrated in collusion with the main opposition, the PDP, that was NEVER ready for this election. We note that all the major credible demographic projections have predicted a defeat of the PDP and it seriously needed this breather to orchestrate more devious strategies to try and halt President Buhari’s momentum. It did the same as the ruling Party in 2015, when it realized the game was up, by orchestrating the postponement of the 2015 elections by six weeks. Now, it may be up to its old trick again.
“We have earlier raised the alarm that the PDP is bent on discrediting this process the moment it realized it cannot make up the numbers to win this election. We are only urging INEC not collude with the PDP on this. We are truly worried because as early as Friday morning, some known PDP Social Media influencers unwittingly announced this postponement, but quickly deleted the message and apologized to the public that it was fake news. We do not want to be forced to a situation of announcing our total loss of confidence in INEC, because we know where that would leave our democracy.
“It is in the light of the above that we wish to appeal to Nigerians and our supporters to be patient, calm and resolute despite this temporary setback. Let us not give anyone, especially the PDP, the opportunity to plunge this nation into a crises, which is what they earnestly desire. Its imminent defeat is just a few days away.
“Lastly, we wish to draw the attention of INEC and the world to observe that the PDP has clearly and openly said it plans to announce parallel results through some funny device it has procured or developed. We wish to re-iterate that it is ONLY INEC that is legally and constitutionally empowered to declare results and it constitutes an offence for anyone to do so. We urge INEC to SPEAK UP NOW and warn the PDP to desist from this ignoble act that is capable of plunging the nation into a crises of immeasurable proportions.”
CUPP salutes INEC’s courage
The Coalition of United Political Parties, (CUPP) also reacted to the postponement saying President Buhari had only succeeded in shifting his judgment day.
Spokesman for CUPP Mr. Ikenga Ugochinyere who stated this in a statement also praised INEC for its courage to shift the election “to avert national bloodshed because we are aware that APC wanted to proceed with election after compromising distribution and destroying materials in over 15 states.
“We have raised the alarm many times that agents of the government were working hard to ensure that elections are not held or are declared inconclusive in areas they know that the All Progressives Congress will never win. We have been vindicated.
“We blame the international embarrassment this last minute postponement has caused the nation on the President, the desperate leaders of his party, APC, and the nation’s security agencies who failed woefully in their duties to protect electoral materials and INEC offices from attacks by these enemies of the nation.
“INEC chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, has shown courage by shifting the election to avert national bloodshed because we are aware that APC wanted to proceed with election after compromising distribution and destroying materials in over 15 states.
“We make bold to say that with the postponement, President Buhari’s judgement day with the people has just been shifted.”
Saraki, Fayose, Sowore join voices
In his reaction, the former governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayo Fayose blamed the cabal for the postponement.
Fayose who took to his twitter handle wrote: “Two days ago, I told Nigerians that the Presidency cabal were considering postponement of the elections because they knew that they can’t win. Now I’m vindicated. With this, they have only succeeded in making their situation worse. Nigerians will defeat this tyranny ultimately.”
Also, presidential candidate for African Action Congress (AAC), Mr. Omoyele Sowore twitted: “New date for Nigeria’s Presidential Election is NOW February 23rd 2019…Postponing their day of judgement by one week.”
Bankole Omisore, special adviser on international relations to the senate president, Dr. Bukola Saraki wrote: A lot of people will wake up this morning to the disappointment of postponement of election. Nigeria being the poverty capital of the world, a lot of poor people who have traveled to vote will be disenfranchised with this late hour decision.
Hearing someone wants them to stagger elections so his voltrons can concentrate on rigging by deploying extra forces to suppress votes State by state, since they don’t have enough hands to rig all across. @inecnigeria how far?
Regardless of how many times a man alters the clock after midnight, he can never delay sunrise”. Defeating @MBuhari is certain.”
