Harsh reactions have continued to trail the postponement of Nigeria’s 2015 general elections.
Speaking with a cross-section of prospective Nigerian voters, QED found that many of them are already feeling disenchanted and see the last-minute postponement which was announced by the Independent National Electoral Committee (INEC) Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, on Saturday, February 7, 2015, as a ploy to rig the elections by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
When QED took to the streets of Lagos, many of the people we spoke with expressed negative views and condemned the postponement.
To Pius Christiana, even though she has collected her Permanent Voter Card (PVC), she has a negative story to tell. She said, “I’ve collected my PVC, but I have a negative story about the process. My mother has not collected hers despite many attempts. I tweeted at INEC on Twitter, and they replied, directing me to fill the Incidence Form, but after I did that, there is still with no PVC for my mother in sight. I continued to tweet at them but they have failed to respond till date.”
Speaking further, she quipped, “I definitely think the postponement of the election is a ploy to rig! They have apparently not perfected their rigging tactics, so they’re just buying more time.”
Another prospective voter who is a civil servant with the Lagos State government, and who only identified herself as Mrs. Yusuf also believes there’s something fishy about the postponement of the polls. She opined, “I’ve collected my PVC, and I found the process of collection easy. However, I believe that the abrupt postponement is a strategy to rig by PDP. I believe they want to push Jega out of the way because he hasn’t been compromised.”
Commenting further, she said, “President Goodluck Jonathan said he wants to get rid of Boko Haram in six weeks…something he couldn’t do in six years! How is that even possible? Let’s just pray that Nigeria isn’t divided and the military doesn’t take over because I doubt if the elections will eventually hold with the way they’re going.”
Another civil servant, Kehinde (surname withheld), agonised that due to certain circumstances, he hadn’t gotten his PVC. In his words, “I haven’t collected my PVC and that’s because I changed my address. I was formerly living in the Igando area of Lagos, even though I registered in Ikotun for the last elections. Now, I’m living in Ogun State, and time hasn’t permitted me to register for another card because of my hectic work schedules. As a matter of fact, I don’t even know where they’re doing that in my new area of residence.”
On the polls’ postponement, Kehinde said, “In my own opinion, I’ll say they postponed the elections due to some skeletons they have in their cupboard. The PDP is looking for ways to manipulate the system. If it was a security issue like they claimed, they should have tackled it long before February 14th, because they had enough time to prepare.”
Of course, National Leader of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu has stated that the postponement of the polls reeked of desperation by the Federal Government. In his words, the announcement of the postponement was from the “mouth of Jega but words of Jonathan.”
According to the man who was a former governor Lagos State, “What happened last Saturday was actually not a postponement due to security or logistical reasons. What happened was the product of overt political interference undermining the independence of the election management body, INEC. The elections were postponed not because they could not safely be held. They were postponed because one man, President Jonathan, feared that an election held on February 14 would for him become an election lost. While the mouth was Jega, the words were Jonathan. He chose to place our democracy at risk than do what democracy demands by facing and risking the verdict of the people. That he would use our security agencies to provide his excuse only adds insult to injury.
“This act was one desperation of a man in fear of defeat. It was not done for the national good. It was the wrong thing done for the wrong reason by the wrong man.
“The rationale stated by the heavily intimidated INEC chairman does not withstand close scrutiny or the rigours of logical thought. It is nothing, but a lie draped in a falsehood born by deceit. Jega said he hinged his decision on a purported letter stating that due to an impending offensive, the security agencies will not have the personnel to spare to adequately guard the polling areas in the north-eastern states,” he stated.
The US Secretary of State, John Kerry who had visited Nigeria some days ago also expressed disappointment at the postponement in a statement posted on the State Department’s website and dated February 7, 2015. The statement reads, “The United States is deeply disappointed by the decision to postpone Nigeria’s presidential election, which had been scheduled for February 14.
“Political interference with the Independent National Electoral Commission is unacceptable, and it is critical that the government not use security concerns as a pretext for impeding the democratic process. The international community will be watching closely as the Nigerian government prepares for elections on the newly scheduled dates. The United States underscores the importance of ensuring that there are no further delays.
“As I reaffirmed when I visited Lagos last month, we support a free, transparent, and credible electoral process in Nigeria and renew our calls on all candidates, their supporters, and Nigerian citizens to maintain calm and reject election-related violence.”
Nigerians continue to wait with bated breaths for the new date fixed for the general elections. They have pledged to keep faith with the process and only speak with their votes.
Presidential and National Assembly elections were originally scheduled to hold today. Those for governors and State Houses of Assembly were originally for February 28.
They have now been shifted to March 28 and April 11 respectively.
