PRESS STATEMENT BY APC PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN COUNCIL ON POSTPONEMENT OF THE PRESIDENTIAL/NATIONAL ASSEMBLY AND GUBERNATORIAL/HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS:
WE CONDEMN THE POSTPONEMENT OF THE ELECTIONS, BUT URGE OUR TEEMING SUPPORTERS TO BE PATIENT AND DETERMINED
We
have just received with great disappointment and disillusionment the
announcement by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of
its decision to postpone the Presidential/National Assembly and
Gubernatorial/House of Assembly Elections to Saturday, February 23, 2019
and Saturday, March 9, 2019, respectively.
We condemn and
deprecate this tardiness of the electoral umpire in the strongest terms
possible. President Muhammadu Buhari had since cooperated fully with
INEC by ensuring EVERYTHING it demanded to conduct free and fair
elections were promptly made available to it. This news is therefore a
huge disappointment to us and to our teeming supporters nationwide and
around the world, many of whom have come into the country to exercise
their franchise.
We do hope that INEC will remain neutral and
impartial in this process as the rumor 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. We note
that all the major credible demographic projections have predicted a
defeat of the PDP and it seriously needed this breather to orchestrate
more devious strategies to try and halt President Buhari’s momentum. It
did the same as the ruling Party in 2015, when it realized 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.
We have earlier
raised the alarm that the PDP is bent on discrediting this process the
moment it realized 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.
It is in the light of the above that we wish to
appeal to Nigerians and our supporters to be patient, calm and resolute
despite this temporary setback. Let us not give anyone, especially the
PDP, the opportunity to plunge this nation into a crises, which is what
they earnestly desire. Its imminent defeat is just a few days away.
Lastly,
we wish to draw the attention of INEC and the world to observe that the
PDP has clearly and openly said it plans to announce parallel results
through some funny device it has procured or developed. We wish to
re-iterate that it is ONLY INEC that is legally and constitutionally
empowered to declare results and it constitutes an offence for anyone to
do so. We urge INEC to SPEAK UP NOW and warn the PDP to desist from
this ignoble act that is capable of plunging the nation into a crises of
immeasurable proportions.
Thank you
FESTUS KEYAMO, SAN, FCIARB(UK)
Director, Strategic Communications, APC Presidential Campaign Council
(Official Spokesperson).
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