INEC POSTPONES GENERAL ELECTIONS DUE TO INSECURITY, APC KICKS WHILE PDP WELCOMES DEVELOPMENT.

The Independent National Electoral Commission has announced a shift in the 2015 general election earlier scheduled for February 14 and 28.

Announcing the postponement at a press conference in Abuja on Saturday night, the chairman of the Commission, Attahiru Jega, said the presidential and national assembly elections will now hold on March 28 while the governorship and state assemblies election will take place on April 11.

Mr. Jega said the elections have to be postponed after the nation’s security agencies indicated to the commission that they were not available to support the elections planned for February 14 and 28.

The INEC chairman said security operatives agencies told INEC that they were commencing a six-week special operation against Boko Haram insurgents in the north eastern corridors of the country and would rather not be distracted by the elections.

Mr. Jega announced that the security forces also said the operations are due to commence on February 14, the date INEC had planned for the presidential and federal legislative elections.

This decision by the security forces, he said, rendered INEC’s readiness and hitherto insistence to go ahead with the elections a risky venture.

Mr. Jega said his commission was not forced by anyone to shift the elections, saying since the security agencies spoke of their unavailability, it would be inappropriate for INEC to risk the lives of its about 700,000 workers, who would conduct the elections.

He said even with the postponement, INEC does not envisage additional costs for the conduct of the polls.

APC REACTS - HIGHLY PROVOCATIVE

The All Progressives Congress, APC, has just heard over the news media that The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has decided to postpone the elections by six weeks on the strength of a letter by the security chiefs that they cannot provide security for the elections nationwide because of the commitment of its resources to fight insurgency in the north eastern part of the country.

This is clearly a major setback for Nigerian democracy, and our Party is meeting in emergency session to study its implications and will inform Nigerians of its decisions in the next few days.

In the meantime, though what has happened is highly provocative, I strongly appeal to all Nigerians to remain calm and desist from violence and any activity which will compound this unfortunate development. We must not fall into this obvious trap. Change we must. They can only delay it; No one can stop it.

I want to assure all Nigerians that the All Progressives Congress will not abandon its commitment to change and will sustain the struggle to establish a new Nigeria.

PDP WELCOMES POSTPONEMENT.

The Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation (PDPPCO) has welcomed the postponement of elections as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on Saturday.

“It is in the best interest of deepening democracy and in the national interest,” the party said in a statement.

The Director of Media and Publicity of the PDPPCO, Femi Fani-Kayode, stated in a response to the poll shift announcement that INEC ”must be commended for showing the courage to shift the elections after acknowledging the fact that its state of preparedness was not 100 per cent.”

According to Mr. Fani-Kayode, “Since this decision has been taken in the interest of deepening democracy and in national interest, we accept it in good faith and we commend INEC’s courage and obvious commitment to ensuring a free and fair election.

“With this decision, INEC has allayed the fears of many of our citizens that they may not have had the opportunity to vote for the candidates and parties of their choice on Election Day.

“INEC has, by the decision, ensured that no one will be disenfranchised and has helped to guarantee the safety and security of every single one of our citizens during the course of the elections.

“We are constrained to take this opportunity to wholeheartedly condemn the opposition APC for its paranoid delusions and its far-fetched and childish conspiracy theories when it comes to the issue of poll shift.

“By insisting that the elections should be conducted on February 14th the opposition was not only dangerously flirting with chaos but was also putting our country firmly on the path of confrontation, division, injustice, disaster and destruction.

“This is especially so, given the fact that no less than 34 percent of eligible voters have not been able to access their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) up till today- just seven days before the original date of the election. A situation where such a large percentage of our people would have been disenfranchised is unacceptable and the fact that the APC was insensitive to that fact speaks volumes.

“We are aware that INEC is having numerous logistical problems and numerous internal challenges and we believe that the poll shift will afford them the badly-needed time to tackle and resolve those problems and challenges before we arrive at the new dates that have been fixed for the elections.

“We believe that INEC must have drawn a useful guide from available security reports from the North-eastern zone where, despite the very serious challenges that our people are facing there from Boko Haram, we believe that elections must hold. We must insist on this in order to ensure that no parts of the country lose their right to freely, safely and peacefully participate in the coming elections and to vote for the candidates of their choice.

“It is against the backdrop of these developments that we commend INEC for finding the courage to do the right thing. In the same breath, we condemn the opposition APC leaders and members who are set to unleash confusion, mendacity and despondency everywhere and who are blaming everyone except themselves for the situation in which we have found ourselves.

“It is a glaring testimony to their irresponsible and reckless disposition that they continue to insist on having an election on a date that the institution that is constitutionally charged to conduct that election has said that it would be impossible to go ahead under the present circumstances.

“The shift of date is a welcome development. It is solely the decision of INEC. The decision is not ours but we commend them (INEC) for showing courage by owning up to the fact that they are not ready to go ahead on February 14th. The shift will help INEC to organise themselves properly, to put their house in order and to put in place all the necessary arrangements for the polls. The shift will also enable the nation’s security agencies to do what they have to in order to secure the north-eastern zone and ensure that elections can hold there.

“In conclusion, we wish to encourage our supporters and we urge them to remain calm and to be patient. Our party is strong; our candidate is confident; our cause is just; our God is mighty and our victory is assured. No matter what happens and no matter how long it takes, we shall prevail. God bless Nigeria.”