OPC Coordinator Okays Postponement Of General Elections

OPC leader, Gani Adams

The national coordinator of Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, Chief Gani Adams, has commented on the decision of the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, to postpone the general elections by six weeks.
Speaking with newsmen in Lagos on Tuesday, Adams said the postponement of forthcoming polls was justified on account of the 24 million Nigerians, representing about 34 per cent of registered voters, who are yet to obtain their permanent voter cards (PVCs).
The OPC coordinator declared that other reasons given by INEC for the shift of the polls earlier scheduled to hold  on February 14 and 28, including security problem and inadequate logistics for the exercise, could not be waived aside.
He said: “Well, the shift in dates is as a result of necessities to address issues of security and inadequate logistics for the exercise.
“Let me explain these by reminding you of the fact that the shared PVCs was just 66 per cent, while the remaining 34 per cent is still to be given out to the electorate and when you realise the population of this unfortunate electorate, it is about 24 million eligible Nigerians.”
Adams condemned the opposition parties for not caring about 24 million Nigerians that would be denied their voting rights if the polls were not postponed by INEC.
According to him, “I was so sad with the way the opposition handled the development. I just can’t imagine how comfortable they are that about 24 million Nigerians were to be disenfranchised. As a matter of fact, I won’t even be comfortable with 10,000 Nigerians, not to talk of 24 million.

 

“Even if the 24 million disenfranchised Nigerians are not going to vote, the party that loses election at the end of the day can hide behind the incident to foment trouble after the exercise.
“I watched the publicity secretary of All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Lai Mohammed, saying it was just 22 local governments that were not given the PVCs and may not vote, forgetting that some states don’t have up to 22 local governments. For example, Ekiti State has 16 local governments and Ondo  has 18.
“So when you say just 22 councils, you are unwittingly saying it doesn’t matter if about two states don’t participate in the election exercise. If this ever happens, it will give the party that loses to seek redress at the tribunal, thus dragging development and progress to a standstill.”

INEC’s Chairman, Attahiru Jega.

The OPC national coordinator stated that the election postponement was equally endorsed by 17 out of the 27 registered political parties, while only eight insisted that the exercise be held,
He added that “inasmuch as 17 political parties have indicated interest in the shifting, it simply means majority of Nigerians have spoken.”
The major opposition party in the country, the All Progressives Congress, APC, had kicked against the shift of the polls, saying elections should be conducted in parts of the country that are secured.