2019: Secondus begs EU over alleged plot by APC, INEC

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Federal Government and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of plots to truncate the country’s democracy.

He has therefore pleaded with the European Union and other members of the international community to keep a watch on Nigeria ahead of 2019 and also mount pressure on the APC government and INEC to ensure they conduct free, fair and credible elections.

Secondus stated this when he received a team of the EU led by Ketil Karlsen in Abuja on Thursday.

He added, “What we see is marshal system of framing-up opposition leaders and trying to intimidate them. They are not ready to observe the rule of law and there is no democracy without the rule of law.

“We conducted election in 2015, the party and the presidential candidate did not go to court, we had a smooth transition because we believe in the rule of law. Nigeria, as the largest black nation on the globe, cannot afford crisis because of the huge effect it would have on the continent and the entire global democratic community if democracy is truncated.”

Noting that the visit came at a very vital time when President Muhammadu Buhari just declared his interest to contest for a second term in office, Secondus said that his party was positioning itself through a rebranding project targeted at the youths and children as well as mobilising its members and other Nigerians ahead of the 1999 elections.

Karlsen, who later spoke with newsmen called on registered political parties in Nigeria to promote internal democracy as the country prepares for 2019.

“We are very keen to see how their primaries are conducted; how the elections at the state level are also conducted, because these would serve as a litmus test ahead of the elections.

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“We are hopeful that the APC, the PDP and other political parties will also look inwards on how they can best promote democratic principles within their parties,” he said.

According to Karlsen, the EU has already started intensifying dialogue among stakeholders ahead of the general elections. He added that the union was committed to promoting democracy in the country.

He said, “Only here in Nigeria, we have a programme of more than €26m supporting political parties, the Independent National Electoral Commission and civil society organisations.”

Ripples Nigeria however observed that the PDP on it’s twitter handle, erroneously referred to the EU team as being from the United Nations (UN).
This is even though it displayed a picture of Karlsen who led the team in a handshake with its national chairman, Secondus.

 

 

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