Temidayo Akinsuyi, Lagos
Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation,
Afenifere, on Wednesday said President Muhammadu Buhari is encouraging
under-age voting by not signing the Electoral Act passed by the National
Assembly into law.
The group said the only way the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) can prevent the incidence of
under-age voting in the 2019 general elections was to insist on the use
of card reader for all registered voters.
According to INEC, 13.5 million Nigerians voted manually without biometric accreditation in the 2015 presidential election.
The
data shows that President Muhammadu Buhari, who was then candidate of
the All Progressives Congress (APC), won in nine of the 10 states where
people voted manually.
Speaking to our correspondent, Yinka
Odumakin, national publicity secretary of Afenifere, said President
Buhari having been a major beneficiary of underage voting in 2015 wanted
a repeat next month hence his refusal to sign the Electoral Act.
The
organisation further urged the international community such as the US,
UK, EU and other foreign observers to monitor the election and insist
INEC did the right thing, saying the whole world would be affected if
the election in Nigeria went awry.
“In spite of the refusal of
the president to sign the Electoral Act, INEC must insist on the use of
card reader. Every voter must go through card reader.
“Remember
that we have a lot of under-age voting in 2015. That was possible
because 13.5 million voters voted manually without card readers. 45
percent of these ones are in the areas where President Buhari won
election.
“That is why they want to enjoy it again this time
around by not signing the Electoral Act. This election is so important
to the future of this country as a stable polity. So, INEC must do
everything possible to ensure that such things are prevented.
“Also,
the world community like the US, EU, UK and others must beam their
searchlight on Nigeria and put their foot down because in their own
self-interest, if anything goes wrong in Nigeria, all their countries
are in trouble. So, it is in the interest of the world community that
nothing happens to dislocate the peace of Nigeria,” he said.
In a
related development, Rivers State governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, has
declared that INEC could not be trusted to conduct credible polls in
2019 because of the inconsistent actions of the commission.
Governor
Wike stated that though Rivers people were peace-loving, they would
resist any attempt to rig the 2019 election in the state.
He
spoke during a Special Appearance on Channels Television, Sunrise Daily,
on Wednesday which was aired from the Government House, Port Harcourt.
He said: “INEC has different interpretations of judgments, depending on where it is coming from.
“When
the court nullified the Rivers APC primaries, a lawyer of one of the
factions wrote to INEC not to recognise any candidate because of the
judgment.
“INEC wrote to APC notifying them of the outcome of that judgment.
“INEC merely said they were in receipt of the letter requesting that INEC should obey.
“In the case of PDP, INEC wrote to PDP in Ogun State where Buruji dragged the party to court, telling them they will comply.
“When there is a judgment against PDP, there is immediate enforcement.
“When
it concerns APC, INEC says they are studying the judgment. In the case
of Ogun State PDP, INEC quickly obeyed the judgment.”
The
governor said INEC should work as an unbiased umpire, ensuring that the
Electoral Act was respected at all times and due process followed in the
conduct of elections.
Governor Wike noted that INEC had been involved in several under-the-table actions in Rivers State since 2015.
He
said during the rerun elections, INEC connived with the police to deny
the people of Rivers East Senatorial District their rightful mandate.
He
stated that INEC and security agencies should commit themselves to
working towards credible polls. He noted that INEC and security agencies
should sign a pact to respect the tenets of the Electoral Act.
“The Peace Accord is a ceremony. It is a mere public display. The Peace Accord cannot work because they are not sincere.
“INEC
and security should sign Peace Accord because they are the ones who
create circumstances for electoral violence. They try to manipulate the
process against the will of the people,” he said.
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