Council of State verdict: Nigerians triumph, says Garba Shehu

The decision of the National Council of State at its meeting of Thursday rejecting the proposal to postpone the February 14, 2015 presidential election and other elections scheduled for the general elections is the “triumph of the nation and its people over parochial individual and political interest.”
In a statement by Malam Garba Shehu, Director, Media and Publicity of the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation, the campaign said that the position of the Council of State vindicates the position of millions of Nigerians who are ready and keen on the elections and who want to change the circumstances of the country.
The statement said further that upholding the February 14, 2015 date and other scheduled dates for the election, confirms the sacrosanct nature of those dates as well as the May 29, 2015 handover date.
“We are heartened that a major crisis of political and constitutional nature has been averted which would have made Nigeria the laughing stock of the civilised world.
“The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has always said it is ready for the polls, likewise all the security and intelligence agencies and more importantly, the Nigerian people, who are the voters. It would have been a terrible disservice if on the basis of personal interest the elections were postponed.
“No nation learns all the lessons of democracy at once thus it is the belief of our campaign that INEC, the electoral umpire still has the chance and is indeed determined and ready to organise credible polls next week and thereafter.
“We congratulate the masses of our people for the decision of the Council of State. This is a sure sign that Nigerian people are ready to sacrifice to back their country from the locusts which have turned it into a barren land.”
Also, Shehu said while campaigning for the 2011 presidential elections, President Goodluck Jonathan made a number of promises to Nigerians, promises which the president is yet to fulfil.
He said Jonathan’s yet unfulfilled promises include: The rehabilitation of all existing power generation, distribution and transmission assets to give a minimum of 6,000mw of electricity; the harnessing of alternative sources of energy such as coal, wind and solar to generate an initial 13,000mw, and the unbundling of PHCN into 18 successor companies.
“Four years after he made those promises, President Jonathan is still making more promises to Nigerians, when he clearly has no intention of fulfilling them the same way he has not fulfilled those regarding power.”
The statement pointed out that, in initial moves craftily aimed at convincing the nation that he was true to his word, the PDP candidate went on to create the Nigeria Bank Bulk Electricity Trading Plc. and undertook an MoU with General Electric mostly to add up to 15 percent in power projects to achieve 10,000mw addition by 2020.
“However, till date, unacceptable lapses are still seen in the power sector,” Shehu said. “All over Nigeria, from Yola to Port Harcourt to Ibadan, Nigerians are complaining about the poor supply of electricity to their offices and homes.”
The APCPCO pointed out that Nigeria’s current capacity is still under 4400MW, despite the PDP government’s promise to complete all National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP) to deliver at least 4,000 MW by 2012.
“As of 2015, NIPP has not met 50 percent of what it said it would achieve by 2012,” Shehu said. “NIPP’s involvement in the power sector requires more transparency and disclosure.”
The statement further noted that, considering the current economic climate, the US Exim Bank provided up to $1.5bn for investors in the power sector and the status of the credit line by US Exim Bank remains opaque.
“No one can show exactly where all that money has gone,” Shehu said.