The All Progressives Congress (APC) said the PDP’s public avowal to oppose the use of Card Readers in this month’s rescheduled election has shown the accuracy of the APC’s accusations that the ruling party is doing all in its powers to either prevent the election from holding or to rig it.
In a statement in Lagos on Thursday by its National Publicity
Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party described as very curious the fact that the PDP that rushed to the press to deny the APC’s claims quickly turned around to confirm them.
”At the press conference we addressed on Wednesday, which rattled the
PDP and the Jonathan Administration so much, we listed the
conditionalities of the PDP/Jonathan Administration for holding the
election: No PVCs, No Card Readers, No Jega and the fact that they
want the military deployed to harass and intimidate voters.
”We mentioned ‘Card Readers’ at least three times during the press
conference, and said they (PDP/Jonathan Administration are doing
everything possible to sabotage the machine and prevent its use.
”Both the spokesmen for the PDP and the Jonathan Campaign
Organization rushed to the press to deny any such ‘reprehensible’
plan. But a few hours later, the spokesman for the campaign
organization told an incredulous country that they would oppose the
use of Card Reader, apparently after the spokesmen were overruled by
their party. Obviously, these men are outsiders in their own party and
it is now obvious that the opposition knows more about the inner
workings of their party than they do,” it said.
APC said that in an apparently-choreographed show, some 15 portfolio
political parties called a press conference to also announce that they
will oppose the use of the Card Reader, vowing to boycott the
elections and use a legal process to prevent the use of the machine.
The party said these syndicated threats are the latest indications of
the mortal fear in the corridors of power about the machine that has
now become the nemesis of election riggers and manipulators worldwide.
It said contrary to the claim by the PDP, Nigerians are ready for a
free, fair and credible elections to be made possible by the use of
the Card Reader, and will massively resist any move to dump the
machine.
”Nigerians have sacrificed all they can to obtain their PVCs, which
is now their most-prized possession. They have also hailed the plan by
INEC to use the Card Reader to give Nigeria credible polls. Only
dishonest politicians, those who plan to rig, those who have engaged
in a massive purchase of PVCs and those who have something to hide are
opposed to the use of the machine.”
For the avoidance of doubt, our party is ready for any tool, including
the Card Reader, that will ensure that the votes of Nigerians will
count in the forthcoming election. In this regard, we sincerely hope
that the nationwide tests of the Card Reader to be carried out this
week by INEC will not be sabotaged by those opposed to the machine.
The Card Reader has been demonstrated to work, including at the
Senate, and no one must come out to tell Nigerians anything to the
contrary.
”The huge investments in providing PVCs for Nigerians will not be
worthwhile if the cards would not be authenticated by Card Readers
which, by the way, have been used in many other countries, all of them
less endowed than Nigeria, in Africa,” APC said.
The party said it is taking the forthcoming elections very seriously
and closely monitoring every move of those who do not want the
elections to hold, or if they must hold at all, only on their own
terms.
It said, for example, that the party (APC) is aware of an all-night
meeting (Wednesday/Thursday) between a South-west Governor and
security chiefs on how to rig the forthcoming polls in the
geo-political zone, but it remains convinced that no one is powerful
enough to stop an idea whose time has come.
APC thanked Nigerians, both within and outside the government, for
their efforts in keeping a close eye on those planning to sabotage the
forthcoming polls, imploring them not to relent since eternal
vigilance is the price of freedom.
