A political group in Nigeria has said that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, is totally to blame for the postponement of the presidential election billed for Saturday, 16 February, 2019.
The Initiative to Save Democracy, ISD, says INEC has failed to live up to its billing, following its poor preparations for the general elections.
“We knew INEC was ill-prepared for the presidential election. It is a shame that the electoral agency will put Nigerians through this horror show,” Sunday James Akinloye said.
“The news that Card Readers and other election materials were burnt in Plateau, Anambra and Akwa Ibom states were pointers to the fact that INEC was not ready for this election at all.
Akinloye said this was a big disappointment for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) because many electorate had travelled to their home states to exercise their civic duty.
READ: APC condemns INEC’s postponement of election
“President Muhammadu Buhari is in Daura and the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo is in Lagos, where they are both ready to vote. The national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole is also in Edo state and he is ready as well.
“What is painful to the party is the millions of patriotic voters who had to travel far and wide to exercise their voting rights. Some of these people had to spend monies they don’t have and others had to take their annual vacation from work.
“Those who came from Diaspora have their air tickets booked for Tuesday or Wednesday, will they spend thousands of naira rescheduling their flights?” he quizzed.
Akinloye noted that Nigerians must remain calm despite the losses they have incurred. “This is voter apathy at its height. Some people will not make this trip again and that will affect the outcome of the elections.
“I want to urge Nigerians not to be deterred by the lapses of INEC, we need to ensure that we rise above this shortcoming and continue to support the federal government.
