INEC AND THE BURDEN OF CONDUCTING A FREE AND FAIR ELECTION

 

PRESS STATEMEMENT

One of the major reasons, we are fully supporting the postponement of the general election was to prevent INEC under Proffessor Jega from compromising the elections. INEC has long seize to be a dis interested umpire in this election. The evidence is now over whelming that INEC is determined to bias the election in favour of opposition party which incidentally her presidential candidate come from same zone as the INEC Chairman.

This is evidence in INEC determination to initially go ahead with election in spite of the fact that out of the 68 million registered voters, over 20 million have yet to receive their PVCs. It is remarkable that,min announcing the postponement, the INEC Chairman conveniently forgot to mention the nagging issue of inadequacies of INEC in providing would be voters with their PVCs. It is also remarkable that the Chairman briefed the council of state that they are ready to conduct the election. This was one big lie. You can not be ready to conduct the election when their is cacophony of complaints especially in the southern part of the country, that people are unable to collect their PVCs. Giving the time it took INEC to distribute 40million PVCs, it could not have realistically expected to be able to distribute the outstanding 20Million PVC in just one week.

What is even more sinister is INEC willful determination to disenfranchise selected geo political regions which represents areas of strength for President Goodluck Jonathan. We observe a criminal gross disparity of voters spread designed to tilt the election to a pre determined outcome. Voters in the zones that tends to support the incumbent are massively dis enfranchised by the application of the so called PVCs debacle, 40% to 50% of voters in this regions who are lawfully and dully registered to vote will be denied their constitutional right to vote by INEC. That is nearly half of the support base of the incumbent, simply nullified  by administrative failure of INEC prior to election.

By comparison, the zones that tends to support the opposition candidate flag bearer are handed a massive voter advantage, nearly 80% of his support base will be allowed to cast their votes by INEC.

In an election, which many analyst say will be won or lost by a slim margin, to now disenfranchise 20million voters through a questionable and unlawful rule by INEC is not acceptable by any measure. 

We condemn in its entirety this attempt by INEC to undermine our nascent democracy through this criminal enterprise to determine the outcome of Thai election before the ballot is cast. INEC needs to explain how more people in a war thorn north east have collected their PVCs than in the south west, south south and south east.

In the opposition strong hold of north west and northeast, 80.18% and 81.09# collection rate were recorded. In NorthCentral, the figure was 69.89%. However, the figure in the south were significantly lower than this in the south east it was 59.22%, south south was 66.66% while southwest has 43.15%.

Our Position  

a.  INEC must be alive to its constitutional duty and remain unbiased while discharging their duty to the people of Nigeria with emphasis of ensuring that our people in southwest and other southern part were not disenfranchised.

b. The proposed card reader which no doubt is a good technology should be reviewed because we can't take a trial and error usage of the said card reader which has not been tested before by the umpire.

c. We call on the security apparatus to step up the fight against the insurgence and not be distracted by war mongers.

d. We call on our people to also come out to collect their PVCs as the only means we have to ensure  continuity and entrenched transformation is via our vote. We must therefore vote right and not be intimidated by anti people forces parading themselves as agents of change.

e. As Yorubas, we must stand up and be counted and also ensure that the born to rule idea of Fulani's didn't come to pass. Power is not any region  birth right. We must stand up and be part of history come march 28.

 

Morgan Omodu.                                                       Razaq Oladosu

Ominira Yoruba Apapo (Publicity Secretary).       Oodua Democratic Coalition

Amb. Kunle Adesokan

Coalition for Yoruba Autonomy (COYA)

 

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