Nigerians Reject Shift to Next Polls

Posted by African Examiner Articles/Opinion, Latest Headlines, News, Politics Sunday, September 21st, 2014

By Ayo Balogun

Those who are pushing for the postponement of the 2015 general elections under the questionable factors have been warned to jettison the thought.

Such an attempt “under any guise” as orchestrated by desperate elected officials to get tenure elongation by subterfuge will not be acceptable by Nigerians.

The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) gave the warning in a statement issued Sunday in Lagos by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

The party said those who were flying the kite of pushing forward the election on the account of the rampaging insurgency were trying to imperil the nation’s democracy.

”Election is the lifeblood of democracy, the mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates. It is the only way for the citizenry to renew and refresh the governing process so they can get the most benefits out of democracy. Therefore, anyone that tries to sabotage this mechanism is aiming a dagger straight at the heart of democracy,” it said.

APC recalled that the statement credited to Senate President David Mark, that election was the priority of the country now, due to security challenges, only reflected the thinking in government circles, noting Senator Mark, having realized the implication of his statement has since retracted it.

”We in the APC saw this coming, and we have said it at several fora: That the Jonathan Administration has deliberately allowed the insurgency in the North-east, an opposition stronghold, to fester so he can cash in on it to get re-elected. Simply put, the Administration has been playing dirty politics with Boko Haram, at the expense of the lives and property of the citizenry and the well-being of the nation.

”However, the Administration is being too clever by half to think that Nigerians will reward it for its failure in its main reason for existence, which is the protection of the welfare and security of the citizens. There is just no way this government will be allowed to profit from its ineptness and its conspiracy to prolong an insurgency that should have ended a long time ago,” the party argued.

APC indicated that the statement by INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, that the electoral body has started preparing for elections even in the North-east, represented a ray of hope, but warned it to remain steadfast and not to cave in to what would be massive pressure from the Jonathan’s Administration and its gong beaters to scuttle the 2015 elections.

The party added just like Jega has pointed out that, countries like Afghanistan and Iraq successfully have held elections amidst bloody war, hence there was no reason why Nigeria could not organize elections because of the insurgency in some of its parts.

”We know the Jonathan Administration is mortally afraid to face the electorates, having failed woefully to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people. We know many elected officials are also aware that they will be punished by the electorate because they have failed them (the electorate). It is therefore easy for them to queue behind any plot to ensure the 2015 general elections do not hold as planned, so they can get tenure extension.

”However, we have got news for these saboteurs: Nigerians have seen through their game and will not allow them to succeed in endangering our democracy. 2015 elections must hold as scheduled. This is not negotiable,” the party insisted.