The chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State, Mr Tunji Shelle, says the election postponement in Nigeria was a decision taken with national interest at heart.
He told Channels Television on Monday that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was not ready for the election, citing cases of complaints about the poor management of the Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) distribution in different states.
“National interest comes first in this issue. We should not go into election for election sake.
“We should ensure that the PVCs are evenly distributed and that everybody have gotten their PVCs before the election is held. About 85 per cent of the people in the north have collected their PVC but that is not so in some other states.
“It will not be in the interest of the nation that some people will not be able to vote,”he said.
The INEC had told reporters in Abuja on Saturday that it was prepared for the election, but that it could not continue with the elections as scheduled after it had wide-reaching consultations and was advised by security authorities to postpone the elections.
The Chairman of the commission, Professor Attihiru Jega, said that the commission was advised to shift the elections, as the military could not guarantee security of lives and property in the volatile north-east, where the Boko Haram terrorists are pushing for an Islamic state.
For over five years, the military have been on a counter-terrorism operation in the region but have not been able to quell the activities of the insurgents who have continued to attack communities in the region.
Critics have questioned the ability of the military to end the insurgency within a six-week period before elections are held.
Mr Shelle expressed optimism that the military must have gone back to draw up strategies that would help end the insurgency.
“Let us hope and believe that the military has what it takes to address the insurgency in the north-east.
“We cannot be experimenting at this point. We have to ensure that we have peace in all parts of the nation before the election, for national interest. The military is trying to reduce collateral damage.
“We should ensure that there is stability and security of lives and property and also ensure that nobody is disenfranchised in this election,” he said, urging the INEC to also ensure that hitches experienced by the electorates in collection of their PVCs are addressed.
