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ELECTION POSTPONEMENT: Another predictable mess

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2019: We have no confidence in INEC to conduct free and fair elections— PDP Governors

By Timothy Enietan-Matthews…

Nigeria is a mess, a predictable mess for that matter! That’s what the postponement of the 2019 general election has revealed conclusively.

Prior to the national broadcast by President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday, the 14th of February, many Nigerians had predicted that the elections was going to be postponed and announced by President Buhari during the broadcast. But by design or whatever, the president went to promise Nigerians of a free and fair contest, while also begging Nigerians to vote for him.

For a moment, the fear of postponement faded, giving room for an anxious wait for the d-day, Saturday February 16. But then, Nigerians were in for another predictable mess, as INEC, in the dead of the night and few hours to the opening of voting, announced the postponement of the elections from February 16 to February 23 for the presidential election and from March 2 to March 9 for the governorship and Houses of Assembly elections.

That the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, could be rightly predicted to postpone the elections, after several chest beatings and braggings about its preparedness for the elections is both surprising and shocking.

Up till Thursday, the INEC National Commissioner in charge of Voter’s Education, Festus Okoye, told Nigerians that the electoral body would not postpone the election for any reason, saying INEC was fully ready.

Okoye was speaking on the heels of the burning of INEC offices, which affected over 4000 card readers. According to him, the electoral body had back up arrangements to cushion the effect of the fire outbreak and the damage done.

True to his words, reports emmerged on Friday that INEC had replaced the burnt card readers. Also, available reports showed that both sensitive and non sensitive materials had arrived state offices of INEC, and in some cases, local government offices of the electoral body waiting for onward distribution to polling units in the wee hours of Saturday before the elections were put on hold.

The question is, if all these had been taken cared of, including the deployment of personnel to their various duty posts, what logistics was INEC talking about? What part of its logistics arrangements went wrong and who was responsible for it? Nigerians demand to know what exactly went wrong and who should bear the blame.

Read also: Can an election still be free, fair when it is postponed 9 hours before schedule?

The roads are empty! Nigerians are in their homes! School children were given breaks, ranging from one to two weeks on account of the elections. Businesses are closed and even before the postponement, the economy has been at the receiving end, as our national life retreated because of the impending elections.

How well did INEC and the Federal Government think about the economic implications of the postponement before agreeing to it?

Some may argue that the Federal Government does not have a hand in the postponement as it is the exclusive preserve of INEC, but those advancing this line of reasoning are merely ignorant of the inner workings of these things.

The President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government cannot conveniently convince Nigerians that it’s hands are completely removed from this postponement! No rational thinking Nigerian will buy this.

As its stands, the school calendar will suffer, with school children spending more time at home, businesses will continue to groan under the uncertainties surrounding the elections while Nigerians continue to live in apprehension of what may and may not happen before, during and after the elections!

It’s another predictable mess, messing up the lives and economy of Nigerians and Nigeria!

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