The Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District in the Senate, Dino Melaye, has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of acting the scripts of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) with the postponement of the February 16 Presidential and National Assembly elections by 7 days.
The INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu had less than 6 hours to the commencement of the election announced that the presidential and National Assembly elections have been postponed to the next Saturday, 23 February 2019 while the governorship, State Assemblies and the Area Councils elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have been postponed to March 9,2019.
But the senator in a statement made available to IMPACT on Sunday said the justification for the postponement of the election is trifling.
According to Melaye, “So many questions are begging for an answer with the postponement of the Presidential and National Assembly elections. INEC is not complaining of the inadequacy of budgetary provisions but other variables which ordinarily should have been reasonably foreseen and adequately provided for.
“The issue of the destruction of card reader machines and permanent voters’ cards are issues that INEC should have adequately provided for since they are reasonably foreseeable. Why did INEC fail to make contingent arrangements for additional card readers?
“Why did INEC fail to move the logistics or sensitive materials to all the locations they were needed before the postponed election? Why did INEC fail to make contingent arrangements in respect of pending court cases to which INEC itself was a party? Why did INEC wait till few hours to the election before announcing ignominiously, its cancellation?” he asked.
He charged INEC to redeem “its shaky image, not just in the eyes of Nigerians but that of the International Community, by ensuring that it does not yield to the ungodly pressures from the ruling APC, as was witnessed in Ekiti and Osun State.
He advised that INEC should make the entire process as transparent as possible. “INEC should not be seen to favour any political party against the others. INEC has started on a wrong note in its conduct of 2019 election,” he said.
Senator Dino also charged Nigerians to be vigilant and be weary of fake ballot papers on election days.
