The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said it does not have the confidence that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies would guarantee free and credible elections in next year’s general elections. The party also stated that it demands nothing but a sack of Hajia Amina Bala Zakari, a National Commissioner, from the commission. PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, told the visiting European Union on the Election Exploration Mission yesterday that reassigning Hajia Zakari to another department was not enough. “She has the capacity to influence others.
There will not be an election that will be free and fair until she is removed from INEC because she is protecting the interest of the president. “We will continue to talk on this. We asked that the niece of Mr. President, who was before now in charge of operations and leads all the INEC operations in Ekiti and Osun be removed from the commission.
But what they did after our protest was to reassign her,” Secondus said. He alleged that intelligence report available to the party showed that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has concluded arrangement with INEC to manipulate the electoral process.
According to the National Chairman, the conduct of Osun State governorship election underscored the party’s fears that INEC would not be neutral in the forthcoming general elections. “When we eschewed violence after the electoral theft in Osun State and decided to exercise our right to peaceful protest, the Inspector-General of Police directed his personnel to tear gas us notwithstanding the personalities involved in the protest – the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, five state governors and National Chairman and members of the National Working Committee (NWC) and other critical leaders.
“Our fear is strong that the APC and the administration are not disposing themselves for a peaceful 2019 general elections and we base our position on the multiplicity of induced crises across the country.
“With all the unprecedented bloodletting in the country, the president is not engaging the people and a select group operating as cabals have hijacked the system,” he said. He urged international partners, especially the European Union and American governemnt to prevail on INEC to conduct free, fair and credible elections. The leader of the delegation, Niclay Paus, said they were at the party’s secretariat to know its level preparedness for the elections. With NewTelegraph
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