Borno state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has called for the arrest and prosecution of the leadership of the Borno State chapter of Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC), demanding for an Interim Government in Borno State.
The state chairman of the APC, Ali Bukar Dalori said in a statement issued on Thursday, that “the 23 parties were acting the script of a former Governor of the state who is desperate to takeover power at all cost, even if it means sending the state into extinction.
“We strongly believe that the call by the 23 parties for elections in Borno to be shifted till September, 2015 and for Interim Government be put in place by May 29, 2015, is in furtherance of a blind desire to implement an agenda of a PDP that is aligned to an Ex-Governor of Borno, who is hell bent on ensuring elections do not hold in Borno State by hook or crook, due to his fear of massive defeat for his anointed candidates, given the evident popularity of the APC in the state.
“However, we are also excited by their calls for postponement because in politics, calls for postponement of election is conceding defeat because only those who see defeat coming their way, try to avoid elections,” he noted in the statement.
The demand came after the Borno State chapter of Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to “postpone and extend” the forthcoming general elections to September 26, 2015 in the state, because of “seven unresolved issues and insecurity that would no doubt affect free, fair and credible elections in the state”.
The shift, according to IPAC would enable INEC resolve the problems related to distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), personal insecurity of opposition party officials, smart card readers, vandalisation of party facilities, indecent activities of Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), as well as persistent activities of thugs in Maiduguri Metropolis.
Addressing a news conference at its Baga Road secretariat complex, Chairman of IPAC, Comrade Babagana K. Musa, expressed fear that because of the seven unresolved election issues in the state, the National Assembly has to pass a resolution for INEC to shift the polls in the state by six months.
“Let me be very clear on these unresolved issues in our dear state before all of you here today. As I have listed the critical and serious problems on conducting elections in Borno, things are not well at all.
“The environment, particularly the activities of political thugs and some members of CJTF in Maiduguri, are however not conducive for INEC to conduct elections on March 28, and April 11, 2015 without shifting it by six months.”, Musa said.
The shift, according to him would enable the listed problems to be amicably resolved by INEC and security agencies without resorting to massive “violence and intimidations” that may cause the loss of many lives and property in the state.
On the six-month extension of polls, Musa said; “The National Assembly will set in motion for a resolution to constitute a ‘Government of State Unity’ on May 29, 2015; and at the expiration of the incumbent administration, the good people of Borno will have a sense of belonging.
“We are also calling on the Chiefs of security agencies in the state; to ensure within the six-month election extension period, a safe and conducive environment for all political parties to thrive and fully participate in the elections, slated for September 26, 2015,” Musa said.
President Goodluck Jonathan had assured Nigerians that he has no intention of heading an interim administration, insisting that “insinuations about a plan for an interim government is tantamount to treason”, stressing that there was no such provision in the Nigerian constitution.
The President made these remarks while addressing Catholic Bishops during a church service to mark the beginning of the 2015 Catholic Bishop’s Conference in Abuja.
