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Edo guber: PDP says shift APC’s plot to truncate poll

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Edo guber: PDP says shift APC’s plot to truncate poll

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has insisted that the Edo governorship election must be held on September 10, as earlier scheduled.

It says the decision by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to postpone the election was not welcomed by the party and described the call for the postponement by top hierarchy of the security agencies as a shameful conspiracy with the All Progressives Congress (APC) to truncate the election.

PDP made this reaction in a statement it released on Thursday by its national Publicity Secretary, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, adding that the postponement of the election by INEC was not only illegal, unconstitutional and a breach of the peoples’ trust in the commission and the security agencies, but also “a coup against the people of Edo State in particular and Nigerians in general.”

The statement read, “INEC’s decision this afternoon to go ahead with the Edo State gubernatorial election as scheduled; and their immediate reversal of that patriotic stance, the leadership of the PDP led by Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, CON, has re-iterated its earlier position that the Saturday September 10, 2016 election date should remain sacrosanct since there is no tangible reason(s) evident to tamper with the election.

“The call for the postponement of the election by top hierarchy of the security agencies predicated on alleged security threat was a less than ingenious attempt to buy time for the APC which is clearly heading for a major electoral catastrophe on Saturday.

“It is shameful and indeed a major constitutional breach for the security agencies to act in concert with the APC to truncate an election that had been planned for months. Nigerians were not deceived by the obvious concoctions of the security agencies whose performances during elections have been less than average since the advent of the Muhammadu Buhari administration. Indeed they have become instruments in the hands of the ruling party to harass, intimidate and punish opponents.”

Read also: Why INEC fixed Edo guber for Sept 28, 2 days after Oba’s coronation

PDP then called on President Buhari and the National Assembly to conduct a non-partisan holistic review and investigation of the national security apparatus in order to save the nation’s democracy.

According to the party, “The postponement of the election by INEC is illegal, unconstitutional and a breach of the peoples’ trust in the Commission and the security agencies. It is a coup against the people of Edo State in particular and Nigerians in general. Since APC assumed power, virtually all elections conducted by INEC have either been inconclusive or truncated. Saturday’s election in Edo State must be an exemption. We will not accept anything less than free, fair and transparent election conducted and concluded the same day.

It challenged INEC to use Edo election to restore the confidence of Nigerians in its operations.

“Edo is a test case. With the way INEC is performing, how are we sure that it would be able to handle the 2019 national elections. Our democracy is under a serious threat from the APC and its Gestapo security agencies.”

The party beckoned  to  on all stakeholders, the Media, civil society organisations, all political parties, Nigerians and the international community to rise to defend Nigerian democracy from the assault being “unleashed on it by the APC government”.

By Ebere Ndukwu …

 

 

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