Following the surprise postponement of Nigeria’s general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the two biggest political parties have been entrenched in a battle of words, throwing accusations at each other.
Throwing the first shot in reaction to the rescheduled polls, the Buhari Presidential Campaign Council, in a statement released by its spokesman, insinuated that the main opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was up to its old tricks again by instigating a postponement of the polls. They likened the situation to the 2015 presidential elections under former President Goodluck Jonathan, which was pushed back by 6 weeks for security reasons.
“We do hope that INEC will remain neutral and impartial in this process as the rumour mill is agog with the suggestion that this postponement has been orchestrated in collusion with the main opposition, the PDP, that was NEVER ready for this election… It did the same as the ruling Party in 2015, when it realised the game was up, by orchestrating the postponement of the 2015 elections by six weeks. Now, it may be up to its old trick again,” the statement read.
Asking for the electoral body to retain its credibility, the statement also announced: “We have earlier raised the alarm that the PDP is bent on discrediting this process the moment it realised it cannot make up the numbers to win this election. We are only urging INEC not collude with the PDP on this. We are truly worried because as early as Friday morning, some known PDP Social Media influencers unwittingly announced this postponement, but quickly deleted the message and apologized to the public that it was fake news. We do not want to be forced to a situation of announcing our total loss of confidence in INEC, because we know where that would leave our democracy.”
In its own statement, the PDP called for the resignation of the INEC Chairman, Prof. Muhammed Yakubu, stating that the postponement of the election proves that the Commission is a failure.
In a statement from its National Party Chairman, Prince Secondus, the PDP also accused the Commission of bending to the will of the ruling party, after they allegedly tried other means of rigging and violence, before settling on postponing the elections in a last ditch effort to retain power.
“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 the other dubious designs like the deployment of hooded security operatives who would be ruthless on the people ostensibly to scare them away.”
The opposition party also accused the president of being “insensitive” as the postponement will affect millions of Nigerians who have made sacrifices to go to their polling booths today, noting that they will incur unnecessary costs as a result of the rescheduling.
With the postponement, the pertinent question on the lips of most Nigerians and the international community is how feasible it would be for INEC to regain its efficiency, understanding that it has just dropped the ball in the worst possible way for the citizens of Nigeria.
