Jonathan’s security adviser, Dasuki, wants polls postponed.

The National Security Adviser, Col.
Sambo Dasuki(retd.), has canvassed
the postponement of next month’s
elections to give the Independent
National Electoral Commission time
to distribute over 30 million
outstanding Permanent Voter Cards
to registered voters.
Dasuki, according to Reuters, said
he had told the INEC Chairman, Prof.
Attahiru Jega, that a
postponement within the three
months allowed by the law, would
be a good idea.
But his advice was rejected by the
electoral umpire and the
opposition All Progressives
Congress.
Before he spoke at the Chatham
House, a London think-tank, groups
like the Christian Association of
Nigeria, the Ijaw Youth Council
Worldwide, the Federation of
Middle Belt People and the
Ohanaeze Ndigbo had also advised
that the elections should be
shifted.
Dasuki told participants at a talk in
London, that INEC which had
distributed over 30 million cards
late last year, had assured him that
the outstanding PVCs would be
given out before February 14, the
first day of the elections.
He however stated that he
believed it would make more
sense to shift the elections since
the law provided a 90-day window
during which elections could
legally take place.
“It costs you nothing, it’s still
within the law,” Dasuki said, adding
however that it was for INEC and
not for him, to decide.
But the electoral commission said
even though it had yet to receive
any formal request for the
postponement of the elections. it
would stick to its timetable for the
polls.
“It is not a conversation of the
commission’s at all. As far as we are
talking now, the date is what it is,”
Jega’s spokesman, Kayode Idowu,
said.
He added that “as far as the
commission is concerned, it is on
course regarding the February
schedules for the general elections.
Postponement is not being
contemplated.”
Also, the APC, in a statement by its
National Publicity Secretary, Lai
Mohammed, said the call by Dasuki
had exposed what it called the
hitherto clandestine plot by the
Goodluck Jonathan administration
to push for the postponement of
the polls, using all sorts of cheap
tricks.
The statement read in part, “Now
that we have found the smoking
gun, we are urging the
international community, in
particular, to urgently extract a
commitment from President
Jonathan that the elections will
hold as scheduled next month and
that he would respect the outcome.
“Dasuki was only seeking to buy
time for the slugging Jonathan
electioneering to gather steam by
hinging his postponement call on
the delay in PVCs distribution.
“They know for sure that if they
don’t postpone the elections, there
is no way they can win. They are
just terrified.”
The party called on Nigerians to
reject in its entirety, the call by
Dasuki, saying it could lead to
constitutional crisis and undermine
the nation’s democracy.
Mohammed had earlier in his
response to calls by some groups
for the postponement of the polls,
said, “The 2015 elections must
begin with the presidential poll on
February 14, 2015 as scheduled.
“When the Department of State
Service or the SSS lied that we are
trying to hack into the database of
INEC, we raised the alarm that it
was part of a ploy not to hold the
2015 elections. People did not
believe us.
“Now it is coming out clear, the
ruling party(Peoples Democratic
Party) does not want this election
to hold; they are desperate. This
call for postponement by groups
and individuals is simply the
infamous Association for Better
Nigeria trying to resurrect.
“We join all well-meaning
Nigerians to resist and reject it in
any form or shape.
“Why are they not ready? Why
should we postpone? We say ‘no’
to postponement. They know that if
they don’t postpone, they can’t
win.”
Like the APC, the Arewa
Consultative Forum, the Jama’atu
Nasril Islam, the Afenifere Renewal
Group and the Borno Elders Forum,
warned against the postponement
of the elections.
The ACF and JNI , in a joint
statement after their meeting in
Kaduna, said, “We are aware of
sentiments being canvassed by
anti-democratic forces that an
unconstitutional Interim National
Government or a similar illegal
arrangement should be put in place
to stop the forthcoming elections.
“We want to warn in the strongest
terms possible that any designs to
prevent the expression of popular
will in February 2015 under
whatever guise or excuse will be
rejected and resisted by all
Nigerians.
“The February general elections
must hold under the most secure
and peaceful conditions possible,
and we have no doubt that the
administration of President
Goodluck Jonathan is in a position
to guarantee this, if it wishes.’’
The ACF is headed by a former
Inspector-General of Police,
Ibrahim Coomassie, while the
Sultan of Sokoto, Saad Abubakar, is
the leader of the JNI.
NEF Deputy National Chairman,
Chief Paul Unongo, told one of our
correspondents that INEC would
violate the electoral law and some
aspects of the 1999 Constitution if it
attempted to shift the elections
under any guise.
He said, “There is tension in the
country already caused by
insecurity of lives and property. So,
I suggest that Nigerians should
support INEC to make the election
credible.
“Instead of shifting the poll, INEC
should allow those who have yet to
collect their PVCs to use the
temporary cards to vote after which
they can collect the PVCs when they
are ready.
“Shifting the election will set a bad
precedent. Some people may want
to use it as an instance to seek
tenure elongation in future.”
The ARG National Publicity
Secretary, Mr. Kunle Famoriyo, said,
“Postponing the elections will
destabilise many things. I think that
INEC should do the needful by
making sure that our people get
their PVCs. This is a technology age
and it should not take ages to get
these things done.
“I am worried that it is only when
we want to conduct census or
elections that we run into
problems. If you go to the banks, it
doesn’t take time to get your credit
cards, automated teller machine
cards, and so on.
Also, BEF opposed the call for the
poll shift regardless of the issues
arising from the PVCs’ distribution.
The forum’s spokesperson, Dr.
Bulama Gubio, supported the
suggestion by NEF that INEC should
allow the people to use the
temporary voter cards to cast their
votes.
The CAN General Secretary, Dr. Musa
Asake, had told one of our
correspondents that the polls
should be shifted by one week to
give more people the opportunity
to participate in the process that
would lead to the emergence of a
new President.
Asake said, “I support the idea that
INEC should shift the poll by one
week because many eligible voters
have yet to get their PVCs.
“The purpose of election anywhere
in the world is to enable the
people to make choice among
contenders for positions or offices.
So, if it is within the purview of the
law, INEC should not hesitate to
shift the poll to allow massive
participation of eligible voters.”
The spokesperson for the FMBP, Mr.
Manasseh Watyil, said the elections
should be shifted so that there
would be more time for eligible
voters to collect their cards.
He said the “delay in distributing
the PVCs seems like a calculated
attempt by INEC to disenfranchise
some eligible voters.”
Watyil said that for INEC to disallow
eligible voters from using the
temporary voter cards when it had
not made the PVCs available to
them would mean denying them
the right to vote.
He said, “Our stand as the Middle
Belt People is that INEC should shift
the election forward so that every
eligible voter can take part in the
election.
“The election can take place in the
second week of March. That will be
better for us so that there will be
more time for people to collect
their PVCs to be able to exercise
their right, else, there will be room
for rigging.”
The Secretary General, Ohanaeze
Ndigbo, Dr. Joe Nwogu, suggested
that the elections be postponed for
two weeks to enhance their
credibility.
Nwogu said, “If the election is
moved by two weeks, it will not be
a waste of time. It is better we shift
it and have it done properly. It can
be postponed for about two weeks
so that many people will have the
opportunity to vote. But that is my
personal opinion.”
The IYCW also supported the call
for the postponement of the
election to ensure that more
Nigerians voted for the candidates
of their choice.
Its spokesperson, Eric Amare,
said,“We are in support of the
extension of the date because the
issue of PVC is very important and
INEC must do everything possible
to ensure that every registered
Nigerian has the right to vote
without any hindrance.’’

Shift or no shift they knew how to play their g*mes.

It must not be shifted .