The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday dismissed the claims of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that it interfered and pressurised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to reschedule the general elections as an attempt to trigger a political crisis in the country and denigrate the esteemedposition of the military in maintaining the unity of Nigeria.
The party also accused the APC of acting as an agentof destabilisation.
The Deputy National Chairman of PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, in a chat with journalists in Abuja, said the claims of the APC cannot be anything close to the truth and was an attempt to politicise the military away from its professional role of ensuring theunity and stability of thecountry.
According to Secondus, “ The APC is just playing to the gallery and unnecessarily overheatingthe system by beating the drums of war and shouting wolves where there is none.
“Thetruth is that INEC was not ready for the electionsand lacks the ability and strengthto say so. How can INEC say that the basic reason for the shift of the elections was the security crisis in the North-east states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe without telling Nigerians the challenges it is facing in the distribution of the Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs).
“Let INEC tell Nigerians the details of the report submitted to it by the two United States Democracy Institutes. I mean the reports fromthe National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Republican Institute(IRI).
“INEC is keepingquite on the report that was submittedto it as far back as January 20 or thereabout.If INEC is not for mischief, let the commission tell the world its level of preparedness in terms of training of more than 900,000 ad hoc staff and the distribution ofall sensitive materials.
“How can INEC claim to be ready for the elections when in some states, about 50 percentof the voters are yet to collect their voters’ cards. In Lagos State with the highest number of voters, more than 33 percent are yet to collect their PVCs. Yet INEC says it is ready to conduct theelections. Is INEC out to disenfranchise eligible voters and then find another way to discredit the entire electoral system.
“What of the Card Reading Machines, has INEC text run them? Is all the PVCs for the electionsin the country distributed? We have it on good authority that the PVCs for five or four states are not yet distributed, let alone collected by the eligible voters. INEC should be honest enough to tell Nigerians the truth thanhiding undersecurityreports.
“Have you read the NDI and IRI reports, where the delegation on pre election assessment expressed concerns over the shoddy arrangements by INEC. (Brought the report and read out: ‘The delegation is concernedthat millions of permanent voters’ cards (PVCs) have not yet been distributed by INEC. Although the commission plans to move the distribution of the PVCs from the local government area level to the level of wards (which are similar units under the local government area level down to the polling points), that exercise has not started in all the states.
“Moreover, some Nigerians stated that in a number of states, the distribution exercise has repeatedly been postponed in some locations, leading to further erosion of trust in INEC.”
The deputy national chairman of PDP who frowned at the continued denigration of the military by APC, warned: “Themilitary is the professional body that is charged with the maintenanceand stability of the country and should not be dragged into political issues. This is in the overall national interest of all Nigerians. Whatthe APC is trying to do, is to pour mud into the face of the military and cause crisis in thecountry.
“The military is the backbone of all nations and we as politicians must desist at all times from dragging this revered institution into politics and politicisation of the military. To do so, is an evil wind that will blow Nigeria no good. A stitch in time saves nine. APC should avoid dragging Nigeria into crisis.
“When the military says it cannot guarantee lives and property during election and advised that the elections should be shifted, why does APC doubt the decision of the military. What is six weeks in the life of a nation for elections to take place, if not the APC plot of throwing the baby and the bath water?” Secondus said
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