Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Emmanuel Iwuayanwu, has described the postponement of the Presidential and National Assembly election earlier scheduled to hold yesterday by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as a disgrace and embarrassment to Nigeria.
Iwuayanwu, who spoke to our correspondent in Owerri, lambasted the INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, for postponing the election, maintaining that his credibility to conduct a free and fair poll was in doubt.
According to the elder statesman, the reason given by the INEC boss is inconsequential given that a lot of resources and money were made available for the commission for the conduct of the election.
He said: “This is a big calamity because as at yesterday, INEC said that they were ready. This is a very serious matter; it is going to plunge us into more problems. A lot of tax payers money was involved in that election. Many businesses were closed for three days. There is inconvenience in the travel arrangements made by people just because of the carelessness of one man. This is an international disgrace.” He further stated that INEC does not have the power to postpone election without following the constitution. “There is more to it than meet the eye. How can he talk of logistics problems when he was given all the money he needed to conduct election,” Iwuayanwu asked.
He advised the Federal Government to set up a panel of enquiry to ascertain the real reason behind the postponement and probe further to know if the INEC chairman has the credibility to go ahead with the conduct of the election.