Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
The National Association of Seadogs (Pyrates Confraternity) has tasked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to dash the hopes of Nigerians on the rescheduled date for the presidential and National Assembly elections.
According to NAS, INEC should not let the issues that led to the postponement repeat itself to save Nigeria from further international ridicule.
The association which said it received with a deep concern like other Nigerians, the postponement of the election few hours to its commencement, also called for further scrutiny of the reasons offered for the shift of the polls.
NAS in a statement signed by the NAS Capoon, Kwaghbunde Gbahabo, noted that aside the economic loss to Nigerians, the N143 billion spent on the election and four-year lead time to organise the sudden postponement “is a national embarrassment and a global public relations nightmare, especially, given the number and status of local and international observers who have berthed in Nigeria for election monitoring.”
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Gbahabo, while imploring INEC to safeguard the integrity of sensitive materials already deployed, challenged it to step up its operations as the survival of democracy rests on the conduct of credible elections.
The statement read in part: “INEC must ensure that the integrity of already deployed sensitive election materials and assets be expediently preserved. Beyond this, INEC must assure Nigerians that the issues that led to this postponement will be addressed within the next week. It is pertinent to mitigate this unfortunate exposure of Nigeria to international ridicule. Insinuations that elections have been postponed on previous occasions are no mitigants because the trajectories are parallel. The postponement in 2015 gave ample time for broad-based consultations and was predicated on security concerns raised by the National Security Adviser and not logistics incontinence of the electoral body. The NAS, therefore, calls on INEC to raise its bar of performance. INEC must be aware that the hard-fought democracy, including the future of Nigerians yet unborn, rests squarely on its capacity to successfully execute the 2019 elections in a free, fair, credible and transparent manner.
“Finally, the National Association Seadogs would like to enjoin Nigerians to remain peaceful and resolute in keeping faith with carrying out this all-important civic responsibility. No matter the times and challenges, we must make our votes count!”