PDP welcomes polls’ shift

Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation
(PDPPCO) said it concurred with yesterday’s decision by the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to shift the
scheduled February general elections since “it is in the best
interest of deepening democracy and in the national interest’’.
Director of Media and Publicity of the PDPPCO, Chief Femi
Fani-Kayode stated in a swift response to the poll shift
announcement that INEC ‘’must be commended for showing
the courage to shift the elections after acknowledging the fact
that its state of preparedness was not 100 per cent.’’
According to Fani-Kayode, “Since this decision has been taken
in the interest of deepening democracy and in national
interest, we accept it in good faith and we commend INEC’s
courage and obvious commitment to ensuring a free and fair
election.
“With this decision, INEC has allayed the fears of many of our
citizens that they may not have had the opportunity to vote
for the candidates and parties of their choice on election day.
“INEC has, by the decision, ensured that no one will be
disenfranchised and has helped to guarantee the safety and
security of every single one of our citizens during the course of
the elections.
“We are constrained to take this opportunity to wholeheartedly
condemn the opposition APC for its paranoid delusions and its
far-fetched and childish conspiracy theories when it comes to
the issue of poll shift.
“By insisting that the elections should be conducted on
February 14th, the opposition was not only dangerously
flirting with chaos but was also putting our country firmly on
the path of confrontation, division, injustice, disaster and
destruction.
“This is especially so, given the fact that no less than 34
percent of eligible voters have not been able to access their
Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) up till today- just seven days
before the original date of the election. A situation where such
a large percentage of our people would have been
disenfranchised is unacceptable and the fact that the APC was
insensitive to that fact speaks volumes.
“We are aware that INEC is having numerous logistical
problems and numerous internal challenges and we believe
that the poll shift will afford them the badly-needed time to
tackle and resolve those problems and challenges before we
arrive at the new dates that have been fixed for the elections.
“We believe that INEC must have drawn a useful guide from
available security reports from the North-eastern zone where,
despite the very serious challenges that our people are facing
there from Boko Haram, we believe that elections must hold.
We must insist on this in order to ensure that no part of the
country lose their right to freely, safely and peacefully
participate in the coming elections and to vote for the
candidates of their choice.
“It is against the backdrop of these developments that we
commend INEC for finding the courage to do the right thing.
In the same breath, we condemn the opposition APC leaders
and members who are set to unleash confusion, mendacity
and despondency everywhere and who are blaming everyone
except themselves for the situation in which we have found
ourselves.
“It is a glaring testimony to their irresponsible and reckless
disposition that they continue to insist on having an election
on a date that the institution that is constitutionally charged
to conduct that election has said that it would be impossible
to go ahead under the present circumstances.
“The shift of date is a welcome development. It is solely the
decision of INEC. The decision is not ours but we commend
them (INEC) for showing courage by owning up to the fact
that they are not ready to go ahead on February 14th. The
shift will help INEC to organise themselves properly, to put
their house in order and to put in place all the necessary ar­
rangements for the polls. The shift will also enable the na­
tion’s security agencies to do what they have to in order to
secure the north-eastern zone and ensure that elections can
hold there.”