2019 Elections: APC Condemns Postponement, Calls For Calm
BY EDMOND ODOK, ABUJA – The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has expressed great disappointment and disillusionment over the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s decision to postpone the general elections by one week to February 23.
In condemning the shift in dates for the Presidential and National Assembly as well as Gubernatorial and House of Assembly Elections to Saturday, February 23, 2019 and Saturday, March 9, 2019, the APC Campaign Council blamed INEC for its tardiness in handling the electoral process.
According to a statement by Director, Strategic Communications, APC Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo (SAN), the news is “a huge disappointment to us and to our teeming supporters nationwide and around the world, many of whom have come into the country to exercise their franchise.”
The Campaign Spokesperson stated that with President Muhammadu Buhari having “cooperated fully with INEC by ensuring EVERYTHING it demanded to conduct free and fair elections were promptly made available to it”, the APC is hopeful that “INEC will remain neutral and impartial in this process.”
He also stated that PDP was never ready for the election as depicted in rumour mill that has been “agog with suggestions that this postponement has been orchestrated in collusion” with the main opposition party,
“We have earlier raised the alarm that the PDP is bent on discrediting this process the moment it realized it cannot make up the numbers to win this election. We are only urging INEC not collude with the PDP on this.
“We are truly worried because as early as Friday morning, some known PDP Social Media influencers unwittingly announced this postponement, but quickly deleted the message and apologized to the public that it was fake news. We do not want to be forced to a situation of announcing our total loss of confidence in INEC, because we know where that would leave our democracy”, Keyamo said.
Below is the full statement:
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2019
PRESS STATEMENT BY APC PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN COUNCIL ON POSTPONEMENT OF THE PRESIDENTIAL/NATIONAL ASSEMBLY AND GUBERNATORIAL/HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS: WE CONDEMN THE POSTPONEMENT OF THE ELECTIONS, BUT URGE OUR TEEMING SUPPORTERS TO BE PATIENT AND DETERMINED
We have just received with great disappointment and disillusionment the announcement by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of its decision to postpone the Presidential/National Assembly and Gubernatorial/House of Assembly Elections to Saturday, February 23, 2019 and Saturday, March 9, 2019, respectively
We condemn and deprecate this tardiness of the electoral umpire in the strongest terms possible. President Muhammadu Buhari had since cooperated fully with INEC by ensuring EVERYTHING it demanded to conduct free and fair elections were promptly made available to it. This news is therefore a huge disappointment to us and to our teeming supporters nationwide and around the world, many of whom have come into the country to exercise their franchise.
We do hope that INEC will remain neutral and impartial in this process as the rumor mill is agog with suggestion that this postponement has been orchestrated in collusion with the main opposition, the PDP that was NEVER ready for this election. We note that all the major credible demographic projections have predicted a defeat of the PDP and it seriously needed this breather to orchestrate more devious strategies to try and halt President Buhari’s momentum. It did the same as the ruling Party in 2015, when it realized the game was up, by orchestrating the postponement of the 2015 elections by six weeks. Now, it may be up to its old trick again.
We have earlier raised the alarm that the PDP is bent on discrediting this process the moment it realized it cannot make up the numbers to win this election. We are only urging INEC not collude with the PDP on this. We are truly worried because as early as Friday morning, some known PDP Social Media influencers unwittingly announced this postponement, but quickly deleted the message and apologized to the public that it was fake news. We do not want to be forced to a situation of announcing our total loss of confidence in INEC, because we know where that would leave our democracy.
It is in the light of the above that we wish to appeal to Nigerians and our supporters to be patient, calm and resolute despite this temporary setback. Let us not give anyone, especially the PDP, the opportunity to plunge this nation into crises, which is what they earnestly desire. Its imminent defeat is just a few days away.
Lastly, we wish to draw the attention of INEC and the world to observe that the PDP has clearly and openly said it plans to announce parallel results through some funny device it has procured or developed. We wish to re-iterate that it is ONLY INEC that is legally and constitutionally empowered to declare results and it constitutes an offence for anyone to do so. We urge INEC to SPEAK UP NOW and warn the PDP to desist from this ignoble act that is capable of plunging the nation into a crises of immeasurable proportions.
Thank you
FESTUS KEYAMO (SAN), FCIARB (UK)
Director, Strategic Communications, APC Presidential Campaign Council
(Official Spokesperson)
