Following the postponement of
Saturday’s elections in Nigeria, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the
United Kingdom has called for a review of the Independent National Electoral
Commission, INEC, operational model with a view to reforming it.
According to the News Agency of
Nigeria (NAN), the Chairman of the APC in the United Kingdom, Dr Philip
Idaewor, said the postponement indicated a systemic exhaustion within INEC and
necessitated review of its operational model and enabling laws.
He said, “This is with a view to
radically reforming it and making it fit for purpose. This is because well
organised free, fair and credible elections are important to the enthronement
and sustenance of democracy.
“The announcement by INEC to
postpone the 2019 General Elections has come as a huge shock to us, especially
given the timing of the announcement, when political parties had already
deployed huge resources to the field for the elections.
“We have carefully listened to
all the explanations given by INEC as well as the reactions of our party’s
leadership, our presidential campaign council, President Muhammadu Buhari and
international observers.
“We align ourselves with the
position of our party leadership, our presidential campaign council and Mr
President.
“We are saddened that INEC
leadership did not deem it necessary to brief Nigerians on a regular basis when
it realised the difficulties it listed as reasons for this postponement.
“We note that the decision by
INEC falls well below the expectations for a seamless performance, given that
INEC has conducted similar elections since 1999 when this fourth republic
started, with opportunities for extensive field experiences and organisational
discipline that would have ensured operational options even in unforeseen
circumstances.
“Moreover, INEC leadership
presented the needed budget for this elections, with evidence showing that all
of INEC’s requests were fully met to ensure successful implementation of this
election cycle,” he said.
According to Ideawor, INEC should
tell Nigerians why elections could not hold in states which did not have the
logistics problems it listed.
“Why postpone the elections in
the entire country? What happens now to those ballot papers and other election
materials already distributed to local government areas around the country?
“What is the cost of this
postponement to our national purse? Where will the money for another deployment
come from? Who takes responsibility for this, and what is the consequence?” he
asked.
“Nigeria needs peace to continue
on the path of national reclamation started by the APC government led by
President Muhammadu Buhari.”
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