The Action Democratic Party (ADP) governorship candidate in Oyo state and former governor of the state, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, on Saturday said the postponement of the February 16, elections in the country by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), is a sad and unfortunate development for the country.
According to Alao-Akala who spoke at his Opadoyin Akala Lodge in Ogbomoso, INEC took Nigerians for granted by not caring about the cost of the postponement which was announced at the “last minute”.
He said it was a disgraceful and inconsiderate act considering the stress that people had gone through just to have a successful exercise.
His words: “I am sad, it is unfortunate that election will be postponed a few hours to the commencement of the exercise. I am sorry for Nigeria; we should not be on this level at this period. what happens to the manpower already expended and human capital resource, can you imagine what Corp members drafted into the exercise were made to go through?
“Why did INEC wait till the last minute, did the commission not know that they weren’t adequately prepared a week ago? This is a failure on the part of INEC, why would they take Nigerians for granted that way? The economy of many people is already affected by this sad development and it is obvious that the authorities do not consider the effect of their actions on the people who are on the receiving end of their bad decision,” Alao-Akala stated.
He stated that the effect of the postponement cannot be quantified, adding that, “no one can predict what it portends for the election on the new date; election materials which are sensitive in nature have already been distributed. How safe are those, can INEC vouch that this will not lead to tampering?
