… says its mockery on democracy
President-Emeritus, Aka Ikenga, the intellectual think tank, Ndigbo, Dr. Sylvan Ebigwei (MON) has said that the postponement of the Presidential/National Assembly elections last Saturday was not only a national embarrassment to Nigerians but dint’s the image of the country within the international community.”it is also a huge mockery on our democracy” He told The Niche.
The National Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Mahmood Yakubu had announced in a statement on Saturday morning that the decision to postpone the election was made following challenges in logistics.
As a result, the presidential and National Assembly elections earlier scheduled for February 16 was shifted to February 23, while the governorship, state houses of assembly and Federal Capital Territory Area Council polls is now slated for March as against March 2.
“the worst scenario is that it was announced just some few hours to the election. How can you make such announcements around 2.45am, when INEC has told the whole world that they were prepared?” Ebigwei queried.
The renowned surgeon said what happened was a disturbing scenario, warning that it would not be in the interest of the country if the election is not allowed to be free, fair and transparent.
He said Nigerians had expected Yakubu to improve upon what Attahiru Jega, his predecessor, left behind as legacy, cautioning INEC to be wary of being manipulated “because posterity will not forgive them for allowing such action”.
According to Ebigwei “imagine the cost of loses that Nigerians incurred on that day. Imagine what most of the Ad-hoc Youth Corpers went through. There seem to be a leadership gap in all this.
“There are institutional questions we have not answered. There are motives behind what happened which Nigerians are yet to be told the real truth. We should stop this mockery of our democracy”.