In spite of the shift in election dates, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Organisation (PDPPCO) yesterday declared that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was ill-prepared for the forthcoming elections.
The PDP campaign office, which stated that 30 million Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) are yet to be distributed, declared that the electoral commission may fail monumentally.
Director general of the PDPPCO, Sen. Ahmadu Ali, who stated these at a press conference, also advocated the use of the Temporary Voter Cards (TVCs) and the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) for the election.
While lambasting INEC for the postponement of the election, he suggested that the PVCs and TVCs should be used for the election, saying there is a monumental problem ahead of the forthcoming election.
He said, “I gave an interview over two weeks ago and I said the problem we are facing is monumental and INEC may fail monumentally. My suggestion was that if you get your TVC, they should allow you to use your TVC. If you voted in 2011 and you have the old voter card, they should allow you to use it because this is the first time they are introducing this methodology and we have not mastered it.”
“In terms of voter education, INEC should be blamed. There is none of you here that has seen the card reader demonstrated publicly. Have you?
“You see, that is where the problem lies. If you in the media have not seen where they trained their personnel to show you how this thing is going to operate, how do we and other Nigerians know how it is going to operate?
“This is what they should have tried out at the local government level in one of the states to know what are the problems. By the way, the battery life of the card reader works for only eight hours. In remote parts of the world where there is no sign of any light, by the time people line up, you accredit them and the eight hours are over and people are still on the queue, it means you will disenfranchise them.
“These are things that he (Prof Jega) should have tried out but because they have introduced it and we don’t want to prevent progress, they should have mastered it. You and I still don’t know how it is going to work.”
He continued: “PDP is thrown aback by the change in the dates of election and fully understands the frustration of the opposition. Having worked so hard for the election, travelled throughout the length and breadth of the country including Maiduguri, it was a bit frustrating too as we were looking forward to February 14.
“We believe that May 29 is sacrosanct and we are keeping our eyes on that date when President Goodluck Jonathan would be sworn in.
He added, “From all indications, INEC is not fully prepared for the elections. These are issues with the PVCs. Almost 30 million people are yet to get their PVCs despite the fact that the date of distribution was extended. Will it be possible to have a credible election when millions of Nigerians are disenfranchised because of lack of permanent voter cards?
“There are also reports that the PVC readers are not fully distributed and tested. How can INEC handle cases of faulty card readers? Do they have a credible plan B in situations where voters are lined up and the card readers refuse to work?
“Ballot boxes are reportedly inadequate. Adequate training of staff for the election had not been concluded and there are other problems facing INEC.
“Quite clearly, the shift in election dates is meant to save INEC from monumental embarrassment. I would like to reiterate that the PDP is ready for the election any day.”
On the security situation, he said, “Soldiers were mobilised for the election in Edo, Osun and Ekiti states and these elections were adjudged as free and fair by both local and foreign observers. With the general election, more military personnel are needed to be on ground to forestall any breakdown of law and order as well as prevent political miscreants from tarnishing the electoral process.
“Nigeria in conjunction with sub-regional forces had recorded a tremendous success in the fight against Boko Haram in the recent well-coordinated repel attacks from all flanks around the North East bloc of the country. This joint effort started about two weeks ago and has gathered momentum, therefore, aborting this process because officers are needed to monitor the elections would be counter-productive and could be more deadly for the nation, as it may reverse the gains we have made so far.
“A recent American statement claims that Boko Haram has a possible strike force of about 6,000 foot soldiers. This will give an idea of the size of the security risk we are dealing with. To add to this, Nigerian soldiers on foreign missions are being recalled for this effort.
“We are querying the INEC for some aberrations in the distribution of PVCs. How can Borno State which is under siege register more PVC collections than Lagos State?
“The INEC might have allowed the distribution of its cards to be tampered with. We hope that INEC will now use the extra time it has given itself to perfect its methodology; for example the card readers need to be tried and tested during the training of its operators”.
”For the first time, we have boots on grounds in Sambisa forest the hide out of Boko Haram and Nigeria has been able to reclaim areas Boko Haram and their sympathizers are completely routed out of Nigeria.
“Internally Displaced Persons from the North-East need to come back home and vote. We should also put into consideration that Presidential Jonathan has been the advocate of one man one vote and has remained unchanged in his resolve to bequeath a legacy of free and fair election so conducting the election without active participation of the IDPs would negate this resolve.
“There might also be Constitutional issues should the elections hold without the participation of the IDPs who by the way come from 2 states which governors are from the opposition party APC.”
Source: Leadership
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