The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said that the poor working condition of the card readers in Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections across the country could have been avoided, if the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had listened to advice from well meaning Nigerians and organizations, including the PDP, regarding the use of the card readers.
National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Olisa Metuh, in a statement on Saturday, said the last minute resort to manual accreditation by INEC clearly shows the failure of the system.
“The unfortunate development is a vindication of our earlier position that as good as the idea of card readers is, it was too virgin to be successfully used in a general election without proper testing especially in an environment as ours that is not entirely digitally proficient,” the statement said.
The PDP also described the accreditation problems experienced by President Goodluck Jonathan as a ‘’huge national embarrassment.’’
Governor Jonah Jang, of Plateau, James Ngilari of Adamawa, Isa Yuguda of Buachi among others, have also reacted to the problems of accreditation, seeking explanation from INEC.
The PDP also reacted to reported cases of accreditation of under-aged persons in some states, especially in the northern part of the country, calling on INEC to ensure that such unqualified persons are not allowed to vote, and also to prosecute its officials involved in the crime.
The ruling party said it is seriously concerned about the developments given the avowed commitment of the President Goodluck Jonathan-led PDP administration to hitch-free, fair and credible electoral process.
The PDP charged the electoral body to take urgent steps within the law, to ensure that no willing and qualified voter is disenfranchised, while urging Nigerians to remain calm in the overall interest of the nation.
