Rivers IPAC rejects postponement of re-run by INEC
(Nigeria) Registered political parties under the aegis of Rivers State Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC, have expressed disappointment over the suspension of the re-run elections in the state scheduled to hold July 30, 2016.
IPAC’s Chairman, Mr Felix Obuah in a statement in Port
Harcourt on Wednesday, said “It’s indeed shocking that the Independent National
Electoral Commission, INEC, could arbitrarily suspend the elections without
consulting the concerned political parties and inundating us as to why the
elections should not go on as planned.
“This is suspicious and clearly shows that Nigeria’s
Democracy is on trial by an electoral body that ought to be an unbiased umpire.
There is no gainsaying the fact that the State has been relatively peaceful,
with the residents carrying on with their businesses across the State lawfully
and without any incidence of skirmishes in any part of the State as erroneously
alleged.
“Compared to other states where elections and re-run
elections have taken place also conducted by same INEC, Rivers State can safely
be described as a haven mainly due to the efforts of the State government in
providing logistic support to the security agencies for maintenance of law and
order. Security concerns are a national and indeed, universal phenomenon and
not peculiar to Rivers State.
“To therefore, anchor on, or hide under security concerns to
postpone elections long prepared for, for almost a year now is to say the
least, a blatant lie and deceptive.
We, members of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC,
Rivers State hereby condemn in its entirety the unilateral suspension of the
July 30 re-run elections in the State by the INEC.
“We also make bold to say that we are very ready and most
prepared for the elections because we have worked hard to prove to the people
that we are capable and remain their best choice to pilot their affairs which
are self-evident.
“We therefore, urge the INEC to reverse itself and go ahead
to conduct the elections it had so much promised and announced its readiness to
do so. By postponing the elections, INEC is not doing the State any good
because while the rest of the country are fully represented in the National
Assembly and having quality legislations to move their respective States
forward, Rivers State continues to be stagnated and denied its due
representation in all things.
“This is not the democracy or change Nigerians prayed and
hoped for.
It’s also important that INEC do the needful by going on
with the July 30 re-run election to disabuse the minds of greater majority of
Rivers people and other political parties that it is rather acting out an
already drafted script by the All Progressives Congress, APC, which is not
ready and will never be ready for the elections, but prefers the status-quo to
remain knowing full well that it will lose the contest.
“The postponement, we regretfully reiterate is not
acceptable to IPAC, Rivers State.
Rivers State is safe for election, the incident in Khana
Local Government Area of the state is a grand design by the APC and its agents
to create a scene to enable INEC play its script. We condemn this attitude
totally.”
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