Any decision to postpone 2019 poll will be disastrous, says Makarfi

• Jang canvasses micro-zoning to accommodate Middle Belt
• Kwankwaso pledges to respect decision on consensus candidate

A former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Caretaker Committee Chairman, Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, yesterday said the purported plot to postpone the 2019 general elections would derail the nation’s democracy and throw Nigeria into anarchy.

This is coming on the heels of alleged plans by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to shift the 2019 polls.

The former Governor of Kaduna State, however, urged Nigerians not to react negatively in the event that the Federal Government falls for the plan, but insist on sustaining the country’s democracy through constitutional means.

Makarfi, who is also a presidential aspirant under the PDP said: ”The report that INEC has hinted at the possibility of postponing the 2019 general elections on account of threats of violence must have come to not a few Nigerians as the shocker of the year.

“This is not only because the commission has been giving assurances of its readiness for the polls, but also because of the significance of the elections to the development of democracy and Nigeria’s continued peaceful coexistence.”

In a statement issued yesterday by his spokesman, Mukthar Sirajo, the presidential hopeful said he has been appalled by the news and had actually been expecting either a rebuttal or clarification from INEC.

However, presidential aspirant, Jonah Jang has said that the North should further micro-zone the presidential slot to the Middle Belt due to the diverse nature of the country, insisting that the different segments should be considered so that every part of the country is carried along.

He stated this through the Acting Director General of Jonah Jang for President, Prof. Shedrack Best.

“The PDP has zoned the presidential slot to the North, but each time political power comes to the North, it does look like a preserve of the North West or of some other zones. And hardly would the Middle Belt make it to a true competitive democracy.

“And because we are talking about inclusion, representation and the nation’s diversity, we believe that this time around should be for the Middle Belt. It is the turn of the Middle Belt,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, another PDP presidential aspirant, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has pledged to abide by the outcome of the proposed meeting of PDP presidential aspirants aimed at picking the party’s consensus candidate for the 2019 election.

Kwankwaso, a former Governor of Kano State, made the assertion during his visit to Minna, Niger State, where he met with former military Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida, as part of his campaign tour of the country.