A coalition of 10 political parties have rejected the call for the postponement of the April 14 and 28 general election, saying such underhand and undemocratic tactic could plunge the country into anarchy.
At a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, the leaders of the parties expressed shock over the decision of some of the political parties to join what they described as the infamous campaign to scuttle the country’s democracy.
The parties that formed the coalition are – the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM), Accord Party, KOWA Party, APA, MPPP, SDP, ADC, HDP, DPP and UPP.
The National Chairman of the PDM, Alhaji Bashir Yusuf Ibrahim, who addressed journalists at the conference, said the call for the postponement of the election was dubious and evil.
According to him, the call had nothing to do with the preparedness or otherwise of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct the election or the pace of distribution and collection of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs).
“We condemn in the strongest terms possible, this underhand and undemocratic tactic meant to plunge our country into anarchy, on top of the debilitating state of insecurity which has become pervasive in the land,” Ibrahim stated.
The parties stated that there was no reason for the postponement, since INEC had maintained its preparedness to conduct the poll.
The parties also cited the assurances by the Chief of Defence Staff, Chief Air Marshall Alexander Badeh, guaranteeing adequate security for the elections in the three Northeastern states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe that are under the Boko Haram siege.
The parties said, “The military, led by the Chief of Defence Staff, had guaranteed adequate security on land and air for a successful and safe conduct of the 2015 general election. This ought to have settled the fears about the security of lives and property as well as of the electorate and INEC officials.
“The governors and citizens of the three states have not complained either to the INEC or the Executive and Legislative arms of government that their citizens would be disenfranchised if elections were held in their states.
“The call for the postponement of the general election is, therefore, a call orchestrated by one of the political parties which has continued to invest huge sums of money to ensure the elections do not hold as scheduled, out of fear of losing power for the first time since 1999.
“Our democracy has come of age and Nigerians are ready for change, we will not allow desperation and power-mongering to scuttle it and will do whatever is necessary to defend it and ensure that the general election holds as scheduled.
“We call on the INEC not to be intimidated by desperate elements and to proceed with its preparations for the general election as scheduled. We assure INEC we shall stand by it, shoulder to shoulder, to ensure our democracy is not undermined.
“We urge all major stakeholders, especially well meaning political parties and their presidential candidates, the INEC and the National Assembly as well as all the security agencies in the country to stand together to ensure that the 2015 general election is conducted as scheduled and guarantee that Nigeria survives to face another general election in 2019.
“We call on friends of Nigeria and the international community at large to stand with Nigeria in these very trying times and put pressure on the authorities to comply with the timetable of democratic elections as released by INEC. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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