The National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress, Chief Ralphs Nwosu, has called on Nigerians to reject the sit-tight script of the ruling All Progressives Congress, which he said had unfortunately been unveiled with the most irresponsible and scandalous postponement of the Presidential and National Assembly elections.
Nwosu in a statement released, on Saturday, by the National Publicity Secretary of ADC, Yemi Kolapo, said that the fact that the Independent National Electoral Commission had, until the morning of elections, assured Nigerians that it was fully prepared for the conduct of free, fair and credible elections, despite concerns from credible quarters, made the sudden postponement suspicious.
The chairman, therefore, called for the immediate resignation of both the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, and President Muhammadu Buhari, who he said, was the author of the script being presented by the former, noting that the flimsy excuse of logistics issues could not have surfaced on the very day of the elections.
He said, “This is a well orchestrated ploy by the APC to rig the elections that they know they will not win, considering Nigerians’ open resentment for the despotic and clueless leadership style of President Muhammadu Buhari and his cohorts, which they have demonstrated at every APC mega rally, even in their strongholds.
“No discerning Nigerian would again trust the perpetrators of this biggest embarrassment in Nigeria’s democratic history to conduct any credible election in Nigeria. The INEC chairman must, therefore, resign immediately and a competent chairman announced with immediate effect. President Buhari must also resign for taking Nigerians for granted and making a mockery of the country’s democracy before Nigerians and the international community.”
According to the party, Nigerians have never had it this bad, as the 2015 postponement by the former President Goodluck Jonathan administration was done two weeks before elections, and when sensitive materials had not been shamefully dispatched as in the case of the present INEC under Buhari.
The National Chairman observed, “One of their strategies is to make the opposition parties spend all their resources, mobilising their agents and officials to travel to their duty posts. As at now, inasmuch as I can only speak for our political party, I can say, authoritatively, that billions of naira have been spent by both the party and our candidates on logistics and agents.
“How can a responsible government wait till when all these have been done to cancel all arrangements and postpone elections? For wasting both the executive/business time and hard earned resources of the opposition and Nigerians, at large, owing to the ruling government’s desperation to cling to power by all means, both the INEC chair and the President are not expected to stay one more minute in office.”
He appealed to members of ADC and its candidates, nationwide, to remain calm as the party continues to struggle with the challenges of nation building.
“As the most trusted and credible option, we ask the Nigerian public not to lose their cool. We’re determined to get this country working, and we will work with other people, who have shown true sense of integrity to achieve this,” the party leader assured.
Nwosu, however, concluded that the postponement of the Presidential and National Assembly elections, which had already been achieved without consultation with stakeholders, should not affect the dates of the governorship and state assembly elections, slated for 2nd March, 2019.
“We expect the new INEC, yet-to-be-inaugurated, to go ahead with the governorship and state House of Assembly elections and stop the financial, emotional and psychological drain on candidates, political parties and Nigerians as a whole,” he declared.
He urged Nigerians to condemn the APC’s insult by way of their reaction to the national embarrassment, which blamed the INEC.
“Informed Nigerians know the source of this unprecedented show of shame,” he said
