Prince Uche Secondus |
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Friday alleged that the
Presidency and the All Progressives Congress, APC, were plotting to
“militarize and scuttle the conduct of the 2019 general elections,
particularly, the presidential poll.”
The National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus stated this
when he led members of the National Working Committee to receive the
Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for West Africa and
the Sahel, Mr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, in his office in Abuja and was
contained in a statement issued by the opposition party’s spokesperson,
Kola Ologbondiyan.
Secondus alerted the UN Security Council that Buhari was already
“compromising the military and other security forces as tools to muscle
the electoral process.”
The statement quoted Secondus as saying there was alleged,
“heightened tension across the country over the manipulations by the
Buhari Presidency,” adding that “if the UN and the international
community fail to intervene and support a credible, free and fair
election, our nation may witness an electoral stillbirth, capable of
triggering violence and humanitarian crisis in Nigeria and the entire
sub-Sahara region.”
According to Secondus, “President Buhari is not preparing for
elections. He is not prepared for the rigours of any electoral exercise.
Every well-intentioned politician goes out to the street to engage and
persuade the people with his or her manifesto and policies, but
President Buhari is not ready to engage anybody in contest of ideas;
that is why he is desperate to compromise our military as a measure of
limitless powers to rig.
“The world saw how our Service Chiefs participated in President
Buhari’s campaign rally. There is no way these Service Chiefs will not
be pushed to resort to self-help on behalf of President Buhari and his
APC in the election. The UN Security Council should note this and
intervene to save our democratic process.
“President Buhari has militarized our electoral process. In the July
and September governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states
respectively, in addition to various bye-elections, military equipment
were rolled out to prevent the opposition from voting. Citizens were
freely manhandled, arrested and subjugated by security agents, who
openly worked for the APC. Today, in Nigeria, the PDP is contesting with
security forces and not with the APC.
“Also, President Buhari has compromised our Police. As we speak, the
Inspector-General of Police has sealed the Akwa-Ibom state House of
Assembly and seized an arm of government, just like they did in Benue
state in July. Our country has been turned into a police state and there
is fear everywhere.
“Similarly, our Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has
been annexed by the Buhari Presidency. This is the reason it has not
been able to conduct any credible election in the last three and half
years. Nigerians have lost confidence that INEC as presently constituted
can guarantee credible polls in 2019. We, therefore, demand for the
resignation of the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu and Mrs. Amina
Zakari, who is a niece of Mr. President.
“Our international partners must, therefore, insist and encourage a
free, fair and credible electoral process. They must also caution
against manipulation and other abuses that are capable of truncating our
democracy and endangering the lives of Nigerians as a result of a
failed electoral process.”
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Disclaimer: Comment expressed do not reflect the opinion of African Parliamentary News