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Election Postponement Not Based On Altruism – Mamora

Nigeria’s election postponement has continued to generate diverse reactions, with some saying the electoral body was forced into taking that decision. In his view, the … Continue reading Election Postponement Not Based On Altruism – Mamora


Mamora on Election postponement

Olorunnibe_Mamora_SenatorNigeria’s election postponement has continued to generate diverse reactions, with some saying the electoral body was forced into taking that decision.

In his view, the Deputy Director General of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign, Senator Olorunnibe Mamora, said on Monday that the decision was “not based on altruism”.

Although the opposition party had accepted the postponement and asked supporters to be calm, Senator Mamora said the postponement portrayed Nigerians as being unserious, insincere and a sign that the government of the day was desperate.

Looking at events prior to the postponement of the general elections by the electoral body on Saturday, he recalled that the Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh, had said that the security forces were ready to provide security to enable a free and fair election hold, but wondered why the security forces told the electoral body that it could not guarantee security in the volatile north-east region.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had cited issues of insecurity in the north-east, against which the security operatives issued a letter requesting that the election should be shifted, as the reason for its decision. The elections initially scheduled to hold on February 14 and 28 have been shifted to March 28 and April 11.

Considering the security situation in the north-east, Senator Mamora stressed that only 14 local governments in three north-east states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe were under the attack of the Boko Haram sect and that such number should not have warranted a postponement of the election in a country with over 700 local government councils..

He questioned how possible it was for the military to quell insurgency in the region in six weeks if the forces could not achieve that in five years.

The Senator further expressed fears that the elections postponement may trigger a chain of other things to happen, which may not be so favourable to Nigerians.

According to him, the elections postponement had already shown some psychological, physical and material effects that should not have been.

“We have accepted to move and I am saying that I am not convinced that the decision was right.

“We will never have 100 per cent collection of Permanent Voters Card. INEC should do their best to ensure that a larger number of the electorates collect their PVCs and they should train their staff well.

“We hope that at the end of the day, the reasons given should have been overcome,” he said.

Senator Mamora said that people were sceptical about the postponement of the general elections because the people no longer trust the government.

“This is a government that has lost credibility. Trust is lacking and every other thing cannot be in place,” the lawmaker said.