EDO State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has said that the security advice upon which the Independent National Electoral Commission,INEC, postponed the governorship election earlier scheduled for today was authored in connivance with the All Progressives Congress, APC.
A statement by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Chris Nehikhare, described the development as shocking and unacceptable.
His words: “For us, the move by Independent National Electoral Commission ,INEC, to postpone the election is shocking and unacceptable. We are taken aback by the rash security advice a day after the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, was present at the final campaign rally of the APC in Benin City which was concluded without any security hitch “It is on record that INEC recently conducted a hitch free senatorial by-election in Borno State, a state which had remained a hotbed of terrorism and insurgency, yet the security agencies saw no reason to advice against the conduct of the election.
“INEC’s action is lamentable, inexcusable and shameful. And it is sad to hear from the same security agencies that the Edo governorship election cannot be held in a state without a history of security threat. President Buhari attends Edo State APC Gubernatorial Grand Finale Campaign Rally in Benin City Edo State on 6th Sep 2016 “We are, therefore, convinced that this security advice was orchestrated in connivance with the APC in the face of imminent defeat.
‘’It will be recalled that a few weeks ago, I alerted the good people of Edo State and the entire country that there were devious and evil plans to postpone the election, and I alluded to the fact that it was a ploy by the APC to destabilize the electoral process having sensed that Edo people were fully prepared to vote them out in the governorship election.
‘’May we use this opportunity to call on President Muhammadu Buhari, who benefited from the process of a free and fair election to caution the security agencies against plunging Edo State into avoidable security crisis just to satisfy the ambition of the APC. “We call on all eligible voters in Edo State to be rest assured that whenever the governorship election holds, their votes shall count and will be protected. The international community and election monitors should also frown at the security agencies’ interference with the electoral process.’’
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