APC condemns INEC postponement of elections
The Presidential Campaign Council of the All Progressives Congress
(APC) has condemned in very strong terms the shift in election date by the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC). It called on the electoral umpire to be
neutral and impartial in the conduct of the elections.
Below is the statement by the PCC signed by its Director of Strategic
Communications, Festus Keyamo, SAN:
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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