APC Asks FG To Declare 3-day Public Holiday For PVCs Distribution

Posted by African Examiner Latest Headlines, News, Nigeria 2015 Election Monday, January 26th, 2015

By Funmilayo Omidiji, Lagos – The Nigerian leading opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) has requested the Federal Government to declare a three-day public holiday to give working Nigerians the opportunity to collect their PVCs, if genuinely concerned that many eligible voters have not received their cards.

APC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed made the request Monday in Lagos at a press conference in Ikeja, the State capital.

Alhaji Mohammed indicated that his party has noted with dismay that the Jonathan’s Administration has continued to pursue the plot to shift the elections, stating that the trick, in itself was one of the two-pronged approach being presently pursued by the PDP led Administration – to “either shift or scuttle the elections, which are scheduled for February 14 and 28, 2015.The other ploy opposition alleged was the campaign for an Interim Government.

The party’s National Publicist said it was important to state that the APC as a party, considered the two options represented the “Devil’s Alternative” and were totally, absolutely unacceptable to it under any circumstance.

Alhaji Mohammed recalled that when President Goodluck Jonathan met with US Secretary of State John Kerry Sunday in Lagos, he asserted that ‘‘the May 29th handover date is sacrosanct”, but hammered that the promise was not reassuring enough, rather, the February 14 and 28 dates for the elections were as sacrosanct as the handover date of May 29, 2015.

“Therefore, we are more assured by the call made by Mr. Kerry, that the elections should be held on time as scheduled. Nothing short of that will be acceptable to our party.

“We are also satisfied with the assurance by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that it is ready for the elections. The electoral body has also said it will continue with PVC distribution until the eve of the elections. Therefore, the orchestrated campaign about INEC not being ready for the elections is sheer baloney!, APC pressed further.

Beyond these, the major opposition called on Nigerians to be wary of the limitless capacity of the PDP and the Jonathan Administration for anti-democratic and desperate actions in pursuit of selfish motives that have nothing to do with the interest of the good people of Nigeria.

Alhaji Mohammed revealed that its party was aware of the clandestine moves, including reaching out to various interest groups and hiring “talking heads to make the television rounds, being made by the Administration to get the elections shifted”.

The Jonathan Administration’s apologists he also alleged were hiding under the facade that millions of Nigerians would be disenfranchised if the elections should proceed as scheduled.

Another tactics planned to be deployed APC established were terrorist attacks in some parts of the North to advance the election shift argument, holding that the recent escalation of the Boko Haram attacks, and the siege on Maiduguri on Sunday, a day after President Jonathan campaigned in the city, were not connected to this “sophistry”.

The truth, APC National Spokesperson challenged was that the forthcoming elections terrified the ruling PDP and the Jonathan Administration to such an extent that they were looking for ways to postpone or scuttle them.

The postponement on the basis of the insurgency in the North-east APC said would represent a victory for the terrorist group and create a constitutional logjam which would take Nigeria back to 1993.

Meanwhile, the image maker of the leading opposition affirmed that it was ready for the elections, and under no circumstance would accept a postponement, noting that it was a cherry news that the PDP has also declared it was ready for them; restated its satisfaction with the INEC declared readiness for the exercise while it maintained any postponement of the election would signify that INEC was not independent, a situation it observed would hurt the credibility of the of the electoral umpire.