IN Enugu, there were mixed reactions over the postponement of the 2019 general elections. While many were angry and frustrated over the one-week postponement, some felt indifferent as they said it did not come to them as a surprise.
The National Deputy Publicity Secretary of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chuks Ibeagbu, while reacting to the postponement on Saturday, berated the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for its alleged ineptitude in handling the election process.
The pan-Igbo scribe wondered why INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, should wait for the day scheduled for the elections to announce its postponement, stressing that it showed that the electoral body is not ready and capable of conducting free, fair and credible elections.
“INEC had four years to plan for the elections. I wonder why they had to wait for the eve of the election to say it has shifted it. INEC planned to fail and the result is what we have seen now. It is a failure of planning. It is a failure by the government at the centre”, Ibeagbu said.
His words: “How and what are our school children who are on mid-term break going to do? Are they going to wait for another one week before they resume classes? Some of us relocated to exercise our civic responsibility and here what we get is the disappointment. They want to disenfranchise us. How long are we going to be on this mess? Some INEC sensitive materials are already in the hands of some people, are they going to be retrieved? I am afraid if INEC will conduct free, fair and credible elections under this prevailing condition”
“If it were to be in other climes, the INEC chairman should have resigned from office because the APC-led Federal Government said it provided all necessary logistics for him to succeed. Even the INEC boss himself had said before now that they were ready for the elections. Well, whether INEC postpones the elections for one month or more, it would not deter Nigerians from voting their choice candidates in the elections.
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“We in Ohanaeze had agreed to vote for the candidate who supports restructuring and we still stand on that ground. APC government wants to create confusion and apathy by this postponement but Nigeria electorate are now wise.
For the leadership of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the events surrounding the postponement of the presidential elections is a confirmation that its decision to lift the boycott was a masterstroke that took the “cabal” by surprise.
The IPOB Media/Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, in a statement which was made available to Tribune Online in Enugu on Saturday further noted, “It is now clear for the world to see that some nefarious elements within the corridors of power in Aso Rock wanted so desperately for IPOB to boycott these elections in order to justify their already perfected script that our boycott made it possible for them to emerge victorious”
“Our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the prophet of our time, is light years ahead of the intrigues and machinations that characterise politics in Nigeria. Had the leadership of our great movement IPOB not called off the boycott, the sham elections would have proceeded as rigged, with a Sudanese impostor Jubril announced as the winner on account that IPOB boycotted the exercise
“In effect, our leader calling off the boycott was a huge shock they were unable to manage. Lt. Gen. Tukur Burarai’s threat and orchestrated army violence against peaceful IPOB in the run up to February 16 were all designed to maximize the impact of the intended boycott because that was the outcome they desired. This plan fell apart as soon as soon as IPOB called off the boycott. Therefore, they had no choice than to postpone the elections. That Nigeria is not voting today is due to what some people have called the IPOB effect”, the IPOB Spokesman added.
But the National Coordinator of Igbo Youth League (IYL), Mazi Okoroafor Nwakalaka, thinks differently as he hailed INEC for postponing the polls, saying it is good for the Electoral body to shift the dates of the election so as to conduct a free and fair election than to conduct polls amidst logistic problems and chaos whose results may be unacceptable.
“I think INEC will get it better with the one-week postponement. INEC did not cancel the elections but only postponed the polls. We should trend with cautions and cooperate with INEC officials so that we will not derail our democracy. INEC should, however, apologize to Nigerians also use this one week window to embark on massive voters’ education to avoid apathy”, he added.
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