2019Elections

Mixed reactions over election postponement in Bauchi

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6 years ago

It was a mixed reaction that greeted the postponement of the commencement of the 2019 general elections which was to start with the presidential and National Assembly election on Saturday as announced by INEC.

While some respondents described the sudden postponement as a set back to the democratic development of the country others see it as a welcome development considering that it needed to be done well

Our Correspondent who went round some polling centres in Gwallameji, Yelwa and part of Bauchi metropolis as early as 6:30 am discovered that some of the voters who were not aware of the postponement had started converging in anticipation of the commencement of the elections.

Some of them who volunteered to speak expressed disappointment over the development describing it as a deliberate attempt by the government to remain in power having discovered that it has lost popularity among most Nigerians who are dissatisfied with the present situation of things in the country.

Reminded that similar thing happened in the past, those who responded declared that it was the reason the present government which was then in opposition castigated the then government and promised to change things positively only to fall into the same trap of wanting to remain in power at all costs.

Some of the respondents though agreed with the reasons given by the INEC National Chairman for the postponement opined however that the Commission should have made the decision public earlier than the time it did consider that not all the people have access to information at such a time of the night.

Report monitored by our Correspondent revealed that electorates in Bogoro LGA (area of the Speaker of House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, had queued earlier in the morning to cast their votes only to be told that the elections have been postponed till next week Saturday.

While reacting to the development in a PRESS STATEMENT signed and issued by his Press Secretary, Abubakar Al-Sadique, Bauchi State Governor, Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar stated that “The postponement, painful as it is, l believe is done in the best interest of the nation. No election is perfect, and those countries that we’re looking onto as having advanced democratic experience took several years to reach the levels they are today”.

The Governor according to the release further stated that ‘Our electoral process has been improving by each election from 1999 when we returned to democratic rule. We, therefore, urged the electorate to give INEC all the support that it needs to conduct an election that will meet internationally approved standards. We have no reason to express any apprehension over this postponement”.

In his reaction to the development, the Bauchi State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hamza Koshe Akuyam, while speaking with newsmen on Saturday, condemned the postponement saying it was an act of desperation by the ruling party to win the elections at all cost.

He said that though elections were postponed in the past during the PDP led regime “but what happened? The PDP lost and the APC won, so the same thing will happen again because what goes around comes around.”

Koshe Akuyam added: “this shows their ineptitude and incapacity to conduct the general elections, otherwise, they won’t make such decisions. We, in the opposition, know that they saw defeat coming, so the best way for them is to postpone the elections.”

Also reacting to the development, a member of the Bauchi State House of Assembly representing Lere/Bula Constituency, Muhammad Aminu Tukur, said that the reasons given by the INEC Chairman for the postponement of the elections are “lame.”

He said: “When the INEC Chairman said that the elections were postponed due to logistics and logistics in the Nigerian context is referring to money. Money that is supposed to be used in the conduct of the elections like payment of allowances of ad-hoc staff, hired vehicles, etc”.

“This, to me, is a very lame reason. Severally, elections have been conducted in this country without money, I know of severally. I took part in the 1979 elections that ushered in the Second Republic, and part of my payment came after over a year after that.”

While responding to a question if he feels that the postponement was an act of desperation by the ruling party to return to power, he said: “with such an action, the people will be more interested to cast their votes”.

“Let it be an act of desperation, they don’t know that they are pushing the minds of average Nigerians farther to the polls to act against them. I am certainly sure that if at all the Federal government has something to do with this, then it goes to tell us that the sign of defeat is bold enough for them to see and probably”, Aminu Tukur declares.

The lawmaker added that “They will want to make some amendments within the shortest time to convince Nigerians to vote for them. I am very sure that history will definitely repeat itself. We are all aware of what happened in 2014 that led to the postponement of the elections twice but at the end of the day, the sitting government was removed”.

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Meanwhile, the Bauchi State Police Command has recalled all the over 6,000 personnel deployed to the 20 local government areas of the state to man the elections.

Speaking in a telephone conversation, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Command, DSP Kamal Datti Abubakar said that they had withdrawn the personnel back to base to continue their normal police duties.

At the INEC Headquarters in Bauchi, the place was deserted as no official of the Commission was seen while few security personnel were seen at the entrance to the INEC Headquarters with only one armoured vehicle.

In his reaction to the development, a youth activist, Mohammed Sani Hassan declared that “I have lost confidence in Professor Mahmud Yakubu, the INEC Chairman. The guy seems to be doing the bidding of the opposition Party. It is very unfortunate, to say the least. I’m deeply sad and depressed with the decision taken. Allah yasa haka shi ne mafi alkhairi. Ameen”.

Meanwhile, commercial activities were paralyzed as most shops and markets did not open for business due to the earlier directives by security agencies that movement was to be restricted during the botched general elections.

A visit to the Wunti, Central, Muda Lawal, Railway, Yelwa and other markets within Bauchi metropolis revealed that commercial activities were at the lowest ebbs as people did not turn up while those who were seen said that they got the news of the postponement rather late and just decided to come out to see if they can make sales.