Ahead of the February 23 rescheduled presidential and National Assembly elections, a showdown appears imminent as political parties dare the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over electioneering.
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, had last Saturday, during an interactive session with stakeholders, in Abuja, where he explained why the polls were postponed, said political parties cannot resume campaigns despite the shift in date.
In specific response to a question from former Aviation minister, Osita Chidoka, who represented Uche Secondus, national chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, Yakubu said since campaigns for the election ended last Thursday, parties could no longer resume campaigns.
However, in a daring move, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said it would resume its campaign, which it had earlier closed on February 14, before the elections were postponed by one week by INEC.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, yesterday night, the opposition party said it is set to reopen its campaign, following the postponement of the polls to February 23.
Consequently, the PDP urged its members to await further directives on when it would resume its campaigns.
The party stated that INEC erred to have prohibited open campaigns after it had postponed the elections.
According to the opposition party, “such administrative pronouncement was erroneous, directly in conflict with the provision of the Electoral Act and is not backed by any other law in our country.
“Our position is predicated on the clear provision of section 99 (1) of the Electoral Act which stipulated that ‘for the purposes of this Act, the period of campaigning in public by every political party shall commence 90 days before polling day and end 24 hours prior to that day’.
“The clear import of this provision, in the current situation, is that given the postponement of the election to February 23, 2019, the 24 hours requirement for closure of all public campaigning falls at midnight of February 21.
“The PDP reminds INEC that whenever its administrative pronouncement conflicts with the Electoral Act, such administrative pronouncement must bow before the law. “
A statement jointly signed by Babatunde Raji Fashola and Hadiza Bala-Usman, Directorate of Election Planning and Monitoring; and Directorate of Contact and Mobilization, respectively, said the party’s disappointment was “doubled due to the fact that unlike some who were apparently privy to this postponement in advance, we found out alongside the public a few hours before the polls opened.
“However, we Nigerians are a determined and resilient people and we will not let the shortcomings of INEC deter us from exercising our franchise.
“Therefore, we ask you all to stay calm, stay determined and come out en masse on February 23rd to vote for APC, President Muhammadu Buhari and all APC Senators and House of Representative candidates.”
“We urge all Nigerians to convert their disappointment to determination and ensure that their previous sacrifice does not go to waste.”
“Nigerians would have been shocked that many registered voters in possession of Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) would have arrived their polling centers on election day, only to discover to their amazement that their names have disappeared from the register in their units,” it stated.
