Baring any last minute change of plans, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, will announce the postponement of the 2015 General elections. Sources accordingg to Pointblanknews.com that the postponement is partly as a result of security concerns and the inability of the electoral body to issue Personal Voters Card, PVC, to eligible voters.
INEC had said recently that it was ready for the election. The Commission also said while over 70, 383, 427 people were registered as eligible voters, only 45, 098, 876 had collected their PVCs. 25, 284, 551 others or 34 percent were yet to collect the PVCs for the exercise. On security concerns, sources told Pointblanknews.com that while Security chiefs at the Council of States meeting had assured INEC of adequate protection, current events seems to have quashed that assurance.
A source within the Army told Pointblanknews.com that tension being generated by the elections has heightened fears and insecurity within the North. The source said the unity of Nigeria is currently being threatened and going ahead with the elections not minding the palpable fears and security
concern would spell doom.
“Much as we all desire that the elections should come and go, it is the duty of the Army and other security agencies to ensure the unity of this country. Security reports is not in favor of the elections at this time and it will do us all good for us to douse the tensions first and then go into the elections,” the Army source said.
The Army source who would not want to be named said the Military cannot guarantee safety of INEC officials and voters especially in the North East and North West zone of the country. Another source said virtually all Igbos with PVCs living in the North have left with their families for the South for fear of being attacked during the elections. “Majority of the Igbos who had registered in the North to vote have all left, they have shut down their businesses and gone back to the South.
This is a very unhealthy situation,” a source who would not want his name mentioned told Pointblanknews.com. National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki, had called for the February
2015 election to be postponed to allow more time for the distribution of voter cards. Mr. Dasuki made the call in London, UK. He said the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, needs more time to ensure all qualified Nigerians receive cards for the vote.
The NSA said he told the chairman of INEC, Attahiru Jega, that a postponement within the three months allowed by the Electoral Act would be a good idea, Reuters news agency reported.
Mr. Dasuki, who was speaking at London think-tank Chatham House, said INEC had distributed 30 million cards in 2014, with another 30 million left. He said while INEC had assured him the distribution would be completed for the February polls, he believed it would be more meaningful to allow more time for a successful election.
“It costs you nothing, it’s still within the law,” Mr. Dasuki said he had told the INEC chairman, Reuters reported.
The opposition All Progressive Congress, APC, had vehemently rejected any call for the postponement of the 2015 general elections. But a coalition of 16 registered political parties had threatened a boycott of the elections if it is not postponed to allow for adequate distribution of the
PVCs.
Culled from pointblanknews.com
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