Why February election should be postponed, by Fasoranti, Falae, Mimiko, Adebanjo, Omisore, others

Days after the National Security Adviser (NSA), Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rtd), called for the postponement of the February general election, the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, on Tuesday, supported his position.
To the group, it is not feasible for credible poll to hold when majority of voters are yet to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
Afenifere made this known after a meeting in Akure, the Ondo State capital chaired by the leader of the group, Chief Reuben Fasoranti.
Also in attendance were Governor Olusegun Mimiko, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Chief Olu Falae, Senator Iyiola Omisore, Abagun Kole Omololu, Chief Seinde Arogbofa and others.
The communique was read by the Publicity Secretary, Yinka Odumakin.
To them, postponing the election will still meet the May 29 handover date.
They also called on people in the South-West not to support candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the election.
To them, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, has not demonstrated enough determination to conduct free and fair elections.
The communique reads: “The constitution says election should hold not earlier than 150 days to handover date and not later than 30 days. INEC has chosen February 14. For us, May 29 is sacrosanct, there is no controversy over this.
“Within those days between February 14 and 30 days to May 29, INEC has a window to make sure that most voters are not disenfranchised. If INEC is able to give all registered voters their PVC before February 14, all well and good.
“Meeting viewed with seriousness the sheer incompetence on the part of INEC. The INEC that wanted to create 30,000 polling units few weeks to the election has yet to distribute almost 30 million voter cards. When you look at the table INEC has given, what they tell us is that in each state, this is the PVC received, hiding the total number of registered voters.
“As at today, over 15 million voters out of the one collected have not received their cards. This is 54 million. There are 14 million voter cards that are yet to arrive the country. If we put them together, it is almost half of the total electorate that are yet to collect their voter cards.
“The assurance by the INEC chairman that he will distribute cards a day to the election is not reassuring. If you have failed to do it before now, what is the assurance that he is going to do it now?
“We want to warn that any election conducted on the basis of disenfranchising almost half of the electorate, the outcome will not be credible or acceptable.”
On the reason the group would not support the APC, Odumakin said: “The 2014 National Conference has become a campaign issue. Anybody that did not participate in it or does not believe in it does not love our people.
“They want to drag them into slavery. With the report of 2014, we believe we have crossed Jordan, we are yet to get to the promise land but we should not be sent to Egypt.
“As far as Afenifere is concerned, the presidential election is to decide between two options, freedom or slavery. We have elected to choose freedom, freedom from bondage, internal enslavement and internal colonialism that holds most Nigerians down under the bastion of domination and we are convinced that the 2014 national conference report has laid the basis for the proper restructuring of the country.”
Faulting the clamour for change by the leaders of APC, Odumakin said: “The most important change that Nigeria desires this time is restructural change. The change that ignores the restructuring of Nigeria is not a change.
“Most of the issues that are confronting us, insecurity, corruption have their link with the faulty constitution that we have and to change the constitution is the most important change that we need
“Also, we want to warn in Yorubaland that we should be careful of those who promise change and do not believe in the restructuring of Nigeria and those who boycotted the National Conference and described it as diversion.
“Afenifere believes that election is a democratic contest about party programme and not about using terror to frighten them into submission. That the use of terror to demand for the mandate of the people must be discouraged not to reward anybody that tries to terrorise them to access power.”