APC, INEC working to truncate democracy, Secondus tells European Union

THE National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Prince Uche Secondus on Thursday alerted the International community that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) government and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were working to truncate the hard-earned democracy nurtured for 16 years by the PDP administration.

Prince Secondus said that indicators on the ground showed that the party was not prepared to conduct the free and fair election in 2019.

He told a team of European Union EU led by Ketil Karlsen who visited the National Secretariat of the Party yesterday that the party was concerned at the emerging signs showing that 2019 election might be rigged.

He said that with all indications, it appeared that the government and its agencies were not realistically preparing for free and fair elections in the country come 2019.

According to him,”what we see is marshal system of framing up opposition leaders and trying to intimidate them.

“They are not ready to observe the rule of law and there is no democracy without rule of law.

“We conducted elections in 2015, the party and the Presidential candidate did not go to court, we had a smooth transition because we believe in the rule of law.

“Nigeria as the largest black nation in the globe cannot afford crisis because of the huge effect it would have on the continent and the entire global democratic community if democracy is truncated.

Prince Secondus then appealed to European Union and other international partners to keep a watch on Nigeria ahead 2019 and put pressure on the government and INEC for a free, fair and credible election.

He said that the European Union’s visit was coming at the appropriate time given that President Muhammadu Buhari had just indicated interest to re-contest for the second term in 2019.

Prince Secondus stated that the PDP was mobilising its members and other Nigerians ahead of the election through its rebranding project that was targeted at youths and women.

Earlier the leader of the delegation, Ketil Kalsen had said the Team was in Nigeria ahead of the 2019 elections to assess the situation on ground and areas where the assistance of the UE would need