Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Emmanuel Iwuayanwu, has described the postponement of the election earlier scheduled to hold on Saturday by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as a disgrace and an embarrassment to Nigeria.
Iwuayanwu, while speaking to our correspondent in Owerri, lashed out at the Chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu maintaining that his credibility to conduct the elections was in doubt.
According to the elder statesman, the reason given by the INEC boss was inconsequential given that a lot of resources were made available for him for the elections.
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 in convenience in traveling because of the careless 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 meets the eye. How can he talk of logistics problem when he was given all the money he needed to conduct the elections,” Iwuayanwu asked.
The matter he suggested should not be swept under the carpet, and advised the Federal government to setup 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 election.
Similarly, the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign States of Biafra (MASSOB) has condemned the postponement of the election by INEC.
Leader of MASOB, Uchenna Madu, while speaking on the matter said that “the sudden cancelation of the presidential and National Assembly elections by INEC is an open and undeniable evidence that the President Muhammadu Buhari- led APC is jittery and uncomfortable about the looming election results”
Madu alleged that INEC played and danced to the tune of the Presidency to frustrate the will and zeal of the citizens.
According him, “althrough MASSOB intelligence agency working with a foreign intelligence firm, discovered that because of the eloquent evidence and intelligence report that president Mohammed Buhari would lose the election, INEC planned to cancel it in about 10 states to pave way for manipulation and systematic rigging during the rerun. But powerful external forces coordinated by USA disagreed and insisted that elections must hold simultaneously in every state.”
MASSOB also described the cancellation as an act of cowardice by President Buhari who boasted that he could crush any opposition as a onetime army general. “We wish to remind the Presidency that no power on earth can crush the will of the people. No black nation can stop Biafra.
“MASSOB wishes to remind the people of Nigeria, Biafra and Oduduwa that their willpower and patience is being tested. Don’t succumb or derail from your positive positions and stand for progressive governance.”