INEC: Polls’ Postponement not Politically Influenced
Outrage, shock, disbelief trail shift Buhari: I’m deeply disappointed Atiku: they can’t postpone destiny Moghalu: it’s a manifestation of recycled failure Donald Duke: it's a national disgrace Saraki tells Nigerians not to be deterred You’ve disgraced us,
Our Correspondents
As indignation, surprise, and disbelief continue to dominate reactions to the postponement of yesterday’s presidential and National Assembly elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the commission has said there is no political motive behind its action. INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, stated this at a press conference yesterday in Abuja. Yakubu cited logistic problems as reason for the deferment of the general election to February 23.
The electoral body had in the early hours of Saturday announced its decision to reschedule the general election by one week, with Presidential and National Assembly elections earlier scheduled for February 16 shifted to Saturday, February 23, while Governorship, State Assembly and FCT Area Council elections earlier scheduled for March 2 would now hold on Saturday, March 9.
But many Nigerians were not persuaded of the cogency of the commission’s basis for the election postponement.
However, in a further explanation at a press conference yesterday, INEC insisted the postponement of the election was not politically motivated and had nothing to do with security concerns. It said the shift was unfortunate, yet necessary in the overall interest
of Nigeria.
But, fielding questions from journalists in Abuja yesterday, President Muhammadu Buhari, who is the presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), expressed his disappointment at the postponement of the polls, saying the action underscores INEC’s inefficiency.
The presidential candidate of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Moghalu, Senate President Bukola Saraki, and APC national leader, Senator Bola Tinubu, were among prominent Nigerians who reacted to the poll shift yesterday.
Postponement not politically influenced – INEC
Trying to absolve itself from allegations of political manipulation, INEC told a press conference it addressed after a meeting with stakeholders that in the last one week, flights within the country had been adversely affected by bad weather, which made it impossible for it to deliver materials to some locations.
Chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, said the one week adjustment was painful but necessary in the overall interest of the country’s democracy. Yakubu said the commission had implemented 13 of the 14 activities in the timetable and schedule of activities for the elections, which it issued on January 9 last year.
Despite the postponement of the general election by one week, INEC said campaign and distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) remained closed.
Yakubu explained, “There has been delays in delivering ballot papers and result sheets for the elections, which is not unusual. All the ballot papers and result sheets were ready before the elections despite the very tight legal time-frame for finalising nomination of candidates and dealing with the spate of legal challenges that accompany it. In this regard, the commission has been sued or joined in over 640 court cases arising from the nomination of candidates. “As at today, there are 40 different court orders against the commission on whether to add or drop candidates. The net effect of these is that there is usually roughly a one-month window for the commission to print ballot papers and result sheets and either fly or transport them to several destinations until they finally get to each polling unit
“Unfortunately, in the last one week, flights within the country have been adversely affected by bad weather, For instance, three days ago, we were unable to deliver materials to some locations due to bad weather.
“We therefore had to rely on slow-moving long haulage vehicles to locations that can be serviced by air in spite of the fact that we created five zonal airport hubs Abuja (North Central), Port Harcourt (SouthSouth and South-East), Kano (North-West), Maiduguri and Yola (North-East), and Lagos (South-West) to facilitate the delivery of electoral logistics.
“Apart from these logistical challenges, we also faced what may well be attempts to sabotage our preparations. In a space of two week, we had to deal with serious fire incidents in three of our offices in Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area of Abia State, Qu’an Pan Local Government Area of Plateau State, and our Anambra State Office at Awka.
“In all three cases, serious disruptions were occasioned by the fire, further diverting our attention from regular preparations to recovery from the impact of the incidents. In Isiala Ngwa South, hundreds of PVCs were burnt, necessitating the recompiling of the affected cards and reprinting in time to ensure that the affected voters are not disenfranchised. I am glad that all the cards were quickly reprinted and made available for collection by their owners.
“In Qu'an Pan Local Government Area, our entire office was razed, destroying all the materials prepared for the elections printed register of voters, ballot boxes, voting cubicles and several electricity generating sets. All Registration Areas and over I00 polling units were affected by the fire. We recovered quickly and have since replaced everything destroyed. In addition, we secured a suitable building from which to conduct the elections.
“Perhaps the most serious was the fire incident in our Anambra State Office at Awka, which destroyed over 4,600 Smart Card Readers being prepared for the elections. These Card Readers take at least six months to procure. Despite this setback, we have practically recovered from this by mopping up every available.”
He added, “I want to appeal to Nigerians and all other stakeholders for their understanding in what has been a very difficult decision for the commission.
“Our decision is entirely taken by the commission. It has nothing to do with security, it has nothing to do with political influence, nothing to with the availability. We believe that ultimately this is for the good of our democracy and country. I wish to assure you of our commitment to free, fair and credible elections.
“As Chairman of INEC, and on behalf of the commission, we take full responsibility for what happened and we regret any inconvenience our decision might have caused. Our decision is not politically motivated and was not taken because security challenges.”
On the rescheduled activities, the commission said configuration of the Smart Card Readers would take place between February 17 and February 21; receipt and deployment of sensitive materials to local government areas would take place between February 20 and February 21; while refresher training for ad hoc staff would be held on February 21.
The commission said deployment of personnel to RACs will be done on February 22 before the elections on February 23.
Buhari: INEC inefficiency
Buhari, while answering questions from journalists
is yesterday in Abuja, said he was disappointed by the postponement of the polls, stressing that the action shows the inefficiency of INEC. He said INEC had the time and resources it required to conduct the elections as scheduled. The president lamented that the commission that had consistently claimed that it was ready for the polls could postpone the elections at the last minute.
“Yes I am disappointed because INEC has got all the time and resources needed, and INEC was given all it needed to conduct the polls,” Buhari stated. He added, “Therefore, (it was) supposed to work according to their programme. They were given all the resources. They had all the time and they kept on telling us up to the last minute that they were ready.
“The fact that they are not ready means there is some inefficiency along the line.”
He apologised to Nigerians over what he described as INEC's inefficiency and appealed to the citizens to patiently wait for the next one week to eventually cast their votes.
“They should be patient, let them come out a week from today and vote. I apologise for this inefficiency because they have to use their own resources to go back to their various polling units at their own expense if they are all that committed,” he stated.
Atiku: It’s hand of Esau, voice of Jacob
Apparently, insinuating political manipulation in the decision of INEC to shift the polls, Atiku called the postponement “a case of the hand of Esau but the voice of Jacob”.
The former vice president said in a statement he personally signed that the plan of the presidency and INEC was to provoke the public in the hope that they would react negatively and that would be used as excuse for further anti-democratic acts.
According to Atiku, “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 turnout 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.” He called for patience on the part of the electorate.
“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,” Atiku stated.
Moghalu: it signposts recycling of failure
The presidential candidate of Young Progressives Party (YPP), Kingsley Moghalu, said the postponement marked the recycling of failure by the two leading parties, APC and PDP. In a statement he personally signed, Moghalu said, “It is unfortunate that fellow citizens and myself woke up this morning to learn that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has postponed the presidential election and election into the National Assembly slated for today by one week. Elections for the governorship and the state Houses of Assembly, originally slated for March 2nd, have also been moved by one week.
“The postponements are burdensome and their implications are quite serious. School children would now face further disruptions to the school calendar. Economic activities will suffer further setbacks. And Nigerians who have travelled to various parts of the country to vote or monitor the elections that would have held today now face logistical nightmares.
“These postponements are further signposts of the incompetence of the APC administration of President Muhammadu Buhari and they represent the recycling of the failures of the past PDP governments. The general elections were also postponed in 2015 under the PDP government.”
Donald Duke: Postponement, a National Disgrace On his part the presidential candidate of SDP told the INEC chairman bluntly that the postponement was national disgrace. "Putting it lightly and as respectfully as I can, the postponement of the elections is a national disgrace. I listened to your interaction with stakeholders and thought it pathetic that you were seeking sympathy and understanding. I likened you to an Olympian who has 4years to prepare and at the Olympics itself, forgets to bring along his kit. You spoke about poor weather (harmattan), bad roads etc. So lame and so plebeian, you failed above all to take responsibility. Not say it, take it. You and I know that no proper nation state in the world will accept what the commission has done. You ought to resign.
"Clearly there’s more here than meets the eye. I have been in government and I’m not naive, this is not your initiative, this is a script given you to play. Basically, its designed to financially wear out the opposition. PDP did same, theirs was a week or so to the elections, yours is 4hrs to the commencement of voting. Literally taking it to the “Next Level.
"Unfortunately, you are not man enough to reject the script and walk away. Remember Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, he retired into ignominy. Your fate may not be different. Regardless of how well the future elections may go, it is now contaminated. I feel so sorry for one I held in such high esteem."
Saraki tells Nigerians not to be deterred
Saraki advised eligible voters not to be deterred by INEC’s last minute postponement of Saturday's presidential and National Assembly polls. He said this in a statement on Saturday.
The senate president, who is also Director-General of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, stated, “Nigerians must continue to be strong and determined to cast their votes for their preferred candidates. Next Saturday, they should try and forget the current setback and troop out en masse to vote for their preferred candidates. Not voting because of the postponement is not a good option for Nigerians. My appeal to our people is that we must still go out next Saturday to exercise our franchise.
“Let me urge our people to continue in their determination to cast their votes. They should remain resolute and come out en mass next Saturday to vote for the PDP. The Atiku-Obi ticket have the momentum on its side. This postponement will not slow us down. We have seven more days to get more voters to come out next Saturday and vote massively for PDP candidates.”
To INEC, Saraki advised, “They should move swiftly to smoothen all the rough edges. The commission must ensure we do not have a repeat of what happened today. We have been saying it that the 2019 elections should be a clear improvement on that of 2015.”
He emphasised the need for a change in the leadership of the country, saying, “Nigerians are wiser. They will definitely punish this government that has displayed incompetence, lack of capacity and foresight and vote for the team that will get Nigeria working again.”
Saraki further said, “Waiting till just a few hours to commencement of voting before announcing postponement of elections is extremely sad. Nobody can quantify the difficulty that this will bring to people at every level. I empathise with youth corps members who have been relocated from their places of primary assignment to assist with the conduct of the elections. My thoughts also go to civil servants who left their bases to go and vote in their hometowns. I also sympathise with millions of ordinary Nigerian traders whose businesses were suspended because of the no movement order. Thus, the costs of this postponement are incalculable.”
Oshiomhole to INEC: you’ve disgraced us National Chairman of APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomole, questioned why INEC waited till 2am on Saturday before announcing the postponement of the elections.
“I am shocked, disappointed, I am disgusted. You must go ahead and apologise to Nigerians. You have embarrassed us as a nation,” Oshiomhole said. He said the commission should have announced the postponement at least 48 hours to election.
Buhari shedding crocodile tears over election postponement – Secondus
National Chairman of PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, accused Buhari of engaging in an insincere show of grief over the deferment of the elections. Secondus said in a release by his special assistant on media, Ike Abonyi, that the president’s spirited attempt to extricate himself from the electoral malady merely exposed the hypocrisy of his administration. He said conducting a general election was the most important national assignment of any government in four years and for the President and Commander in Chief, who is privy to every intelligence, to try to feign ignorance of the challenges of INEC, was the height of government insincerity to the people.
Secondus said the events leading to the postponement could not have come to both the president and INEC as a surprise given that the president's niece, Amina Zakari, was chairperson of the electoral operations and logistics committee of the commission.
The PDP chairman said Buhari's blame game was in line with his usual way of being unaware of anything happening around him, saying he should simply accept the reality of his woeful failure. He said APC and INEC should stop their hide and seek game and agree with themselves that what God had sealed could never be thwarted by any human scheming.
Postponement regrettable, but remain committed to democracy, Tinubu tells Nigerians
APC National Leader and CoChair of the party's Presidential Campaign Council, Bola Tinubu, said the postponement of yesterday's Presidential and National Assembly elections was painful, but the electorate should not relent in their commitment to democracy.
“Do not allow this delay to deter you from the expression of your democratic rights. What you had set your mind to do on February 16, keep your mind and heart on for February 23,” Tinubu said, in a statement he personally signed.
The former Lagos State governor said though he appreciated the enormity of the logistical challenges involved in elections in a vast country like Nigeria, “We are still pained that the Commission could not meet this challenge within the time allotted.
“We are also perplexed that INEC literally waited so late in the day to make known the obstacles preventing it from keeping faith to the election schedule. INEC could have and should have given the nation more ample and earlier