Pdp, Fayose Kick Against Edo Poll Shift
BEVERLY HILLS, September 07, (THEWILL) – The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has kicked against the purported advice by the Department of State Service (DSS) and the police to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to postpone Saturday's governorship election in Edo State.
According to a statement issued on Wednesday by the spokesman of the Caretaker Committee of the PDP, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, the party expressed surprise that the said security alert was coming a day after President Muhammadu Buhari visited Benin City for the All progressives Congress (APC) mega rally, where there was no incidence of security breach.
“Our attention has been drawn to the shocking breaking news of the advice by the DSS and the police to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to postpone the Saturday, September 10, 2016 gubernatorial election in Edo State over insurgency alert,” the statement read.
“We are taken aback by this advice, coming 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 mega rally of its party, the APC in Benin City which was concluded without any hitch.
“It is on record that INEC recently conducted a 'hitch free' senatorial bye election in Borno State, which is a high-point of insurgency in the country but the security agencies saw no reason to call-off the election.
“It is therefore lamentable to hear from these same security agencies that the election cannot be held in a state where in less than 24 hours, the President and the APC leaders and members had an uninterrupted rally.
“We are calling on the President, Muhammadu Buhari to caution the security agencies and direct them to provide full security and also desist from doing anything that will jeopardise this forthcoming gubernatorial election in Edo State.
“We are equally counting on INEC not to succumb to this false alarm by acting independently and holding election as scheduled.”
Similarly, Ayodele Fayose, Governor of Ekiti state, has accused the APC of being behind the call for the postponement of the Edo state governorship election alleging that the party made the move to have enough room to perfect a rigging strategy ahead of the poll.
“It is obvious that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is challenged and afraid of losing the election and the party is using the federal government security agencies to cause a postponement of the election so as to be able to perfect its new rigging plans,” the governor said in a statement issued by Lere Olayinka, his Spokesman.
“Democracy is in danger under the APC government. Within two years of APC government, Nigeria is in both economic and political recession and this should worry all true lovers of the country.
“Democracy in Nigeria has now graduated from inconclusive elections to postponement of elections in other to return APC candidates at all cost.
“The questions Nigerians must ask the APC-led federal government are: what security threat can overcome over 50,000 security personnel in an election holding in just one out of the 36 States in Nigeria? If election must be postponed in just one State because of security threat, what will then happen in 2019 when elections will be conducted in the entire country?
“Another question is: were they unaware of the security challenge when President Muhammadu Buhari went to Edo State to campaign for the APC yesterday?
“No doubt, this is a game being played by the APC because it has become so imminent that the party cannot win the election if it is held on Saturday as scheduled.
“The postponement is obviously meant to give room for the APC to perfect a new rigging strategy and lovers of democracy in Nigeria should begin to see how the APC aims at perpetuating itself in power beyond 2019 even now that the party has been rejected by Nigerians.”