The All Progressives Congress ( APC ) Presidential Campaign Council said on Wednesday that asking the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu to resign is of the solution to delivering a credible election this weekend, saying the commission must work to earn the confidence of Nigerians again that they can deliver a credible poll.
Director, Election monitoring and
Planning, Babatunde Raji Fashola who spoke at a news conference in Abuja
said many Nigerians have sacrificed so much for Nigerian democracy,
pointing out that their sacrifice must not be allowed to waste, pointing
out that any party asking the INEC Chairman to resign does not
understand the workings of government
He said “Election and lack
of elections have consequences. Many people have fought hard for this
democracy, it has delivered uncomfortable results in the past as well as
results we can live with and every effort to continue to improve it is
an opportunity we must not turn our back on. Every party is
disappointed, every well-meaning Nigerian is disappointed, but that is
no reason to throw the baby away with the bath water.
“So, it is
for the INEC Chairman and his team to reclaim the confidence of the
people and show us that they can deliver on what they have been asked to
do. If you ask him to resign, will that give us an election?
“If
he resigns, will that give us an election? If the person who has been
there for four years is having challenges now, who is prepared that will
replace him and do what he has not been able to do in three and half
years. The party that is thinking that way does not even know how
government works. The solution is for all Nigerians to rally round INEC
to get it right and that is what we intend to do.”
Fashola who is
also the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, said Nigerians must not
allow the action of anti-democratic agents dampen our enthusiasm.
Although a week looked like eternity, it has trickled down and is
getting closer to the reversed date.
He said “lots of Nigerians
have sacrificed greatly and sometimes supremely with their lives to give
us this democracy. We must covert the disappointment 16th February 2019
to an all-time determination on the 23rd of February 2019 that others
have made. It is democracy that will preserve our freedom and the
vigilance, particularly those appointed to serve as agents of our party
must be all time high. The vigilance of those appointed to serve as
agents of our party must be all time high.
“Our agents must know
what their rights are and notice the public of our commitment to a free
election. The agents have a right to be admitted to polling centres and
collation centre in the area where the party is contesting election.
“They
have a right to take notes and statistics in a manner to undermine or
impugn the integrity of the electoral process. They have a right to
object to a prospective voter if he is suspected to be an impostor or if
he has voted earlier and the record shows that if he does not belong to
that polling unit. These are steps taken to ensure free and fair
election. They also have a right to ask for a recount of the ballot only
once at his polling unit after his presiding officer might have counted
it in his presence.”
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