The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has said its persistent demand from INEC to do the right thing to ensure free and fair elections in April is not a sign of indolence, but something borne out of the need to check parties like the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) that depend on rigging for their electoral ‘success’.
Reacting to the description of the ACN as an indolent party by PDP spokesman, Rufai Alkali, the party said in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, that Nigerians know which of the two parties is indolent.
‘’Prof. Alkali said it was a sign of indolence for the ACN to be putting INEC on its toes ahead of the upcoming general election, instead of emulating the PDP that has been criss-crossing the country to campaign.
‘’Well, our response is that while indeed the PDP has been criss-crossing Nigeria, it has not been doing so to sell any idea that can turn the fortunes of the country around for good. This is evident in the hail of stones that greeted the party from disenchanted Nigerians in Lafia, to the embarrassing walkout it faced in Kaduna, the empty stadium in which it campaigned in Bauchi, the wanton and wholesale destruction of opposition parties’ billboards and posters in Ilorin and the needless deaths for which its lack of planning was responsible in Port Harcourt.
‘’Conversely, we in the ACN are known for our progressive ideology. While the PDP was engaging in jamboree and its leaders showcasing the latest aso-ebi (uniform) at their campaign stops, we kicked off our campaign with a colloquium to unveil our manifesto and agenda to Nigerians. It was the first of its kind in Nigeria’s recent political history. See which party is indolent now?’’ ACN said.
The party insisted that INEC must conclusively convince Nigerians that it is ready to conduct April’s general election by clearing the air on certain knotty issues ahead of the polls, especially by telling Nigerians whether or not it will use the same DDC machines that the commission used for the registration of voters, so as to ensure that those who registered are those who will be allowed to vote.
‘’We ask because of the allegations that INEC is not planning to use the DDC machines for the polls, which will make it difficult to verify the fingerprints of would-be voters,’’ it said.
‘’As we warned earlier, failure to use the machines will pave the way for rigging by politicians who have been buying voters’ cards, as those who present such cards at polling booths on election days will not be properly authenticated. This will be a recipe for disaster and will be totally unacceptable to Nigerians,’’ the party added.
ACN went on: ‘’INEC must also tell Nigerians whether it has been able to process all the 67 million registered voters to identify and delete multiple registrants and whether it possesses the software to be used on election days to authenticate would-be voters by comparing their fingerprint with the one stored in the computer
‘’Then, Nigerians will like to know whether INEC plans to use the same NYSC personnel that handled the registration for the voting exercise on elections days. If the answer is in the affirmative, is the agency planning to train them for the new assignment to avoid a repetition of the messy situation recorded during the registration?
‘’If INEC plans to use the DDC machines at the various polling stations, has it carried out enough tests and checks to ensure that the machines do not break down or give other problems as was the case at the start of the registration?
"This is important because whereas the registration lasted three weeks, giving INEC room to rectify problems, the elections will last for one day at a time, leaving little or no time for rectifying problems.’’
The Nation
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