Eniola Olayemi
National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Prince Uche Secondus, has rejected the postponement of the general elections by one week.
He claimed in a statement moment after the confirmation of the polls postponement that the alleged shoddy arrangement for the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was a “deliberate pre-determined agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari to cling on to power even when it’s obvious to him that Nigerians want him out.”
Secondus asked the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu to resign.
He also said the postponement was part of a grand design by the All Progressives Congress, (APC), to thwart the will of Nigerians at all cost.
His words: “The PDP leader warns that the party will not accept anything short of a well- organized electoral process devoid of manipulation, harassment and intimidation of voters and the opposition particularly members of the PDP.
“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 unacceptable.
“The National Chairman said that the APC in connivance with the INEC have been trying all options including but not limited to burning down INEC offices in some states and destroying of electoral materials to create artificial problems upon which to stand for their dubious act.”
The PDP chairman, in the statement signed by his chief spokesman, Ike Abonyi said, the PDP 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.
He added: “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.”
He said that by the action of the President he has further demonstrated his insensitivity costing the huge cost after Nigerians including those who came home from abroad have all mobilized to their various constituencies.
The National Chairman said his party had earlier raised the alarm about alleged rigging strategies by the APC including burning down of INEC offices and engineering crisis in PDP stronghold areas to scare away the people.
Secondus 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.
The National Chairman also drew the attention of all lovers of democracy to the statement of President Buhari in the international media that nobody can unseat him from office as an indication of what he wants to do.
Secondus also regretted that President Buhari who made a promise at the signing of peace accord that the election will be conducted in a fair and transparent atmosphere has gone ahead in breach of the peace agreements to send soldiers and other security agencies to arrest, harass and intimidate opponents in Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Kwara, Kano, Kaduna states.
