• Says 2015 Polls Will Be Peaceful

• PDP Group Seeks Audit Of PVC Distribution

FORMER Military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) Saturday expressed the optimism that the rescheduled general elections will hold peacefully across the country, even as he urged Nigerians to support President Goodluck Jonathan and the Federal Government in the war against the dreaded Boko Haram sect.

  This came as the PDP integrity Vanguard, a group within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Saturday, called for immediate audit of the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The ruling party-support group led by Senator Aniete Okon, at a press conference yesterday in Abuja, wondered how INEC chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, could hinge the postponement of the election on security challenges despite the huge irregularities that characterised the distribution of the PVC.

   Gen. Babangida, who spoke at his Hilltop home in Minna when he received members of the Arewa Citizens Action for Change (ACAC), said Nigerians must not see the current insecurity as exclusive problem of the Northeast. He said the insecurity challenge is a problem confronting the entire country, adding that INEC would conduct a general election for the country as re-scheduled.

   “I have every confidence that there will be elections, but I think people should not see the insecurity as restricted to Northeast alone; it is the problem of the entire country and because of that Nigerians should support the Military to end the insurgency.”

   On whether the shifting of election date will affect the outcome of the election, the former military leader stated that the election would be conducted peacefully and the outcome will not be affected, considering the arrangement on ground. 

    Babangida also urged INEC to improve on its voter education and information dissemination strategy, especially in respect of the collection of the Permanent Voter Card (PVC). 

   The former military president commended ACAC for propagating the gospel of peace, particularly as the electioneering campaign are at their peak and the country is grappling with the problem of insecurity.  He assured the group of support at all times.

  In his remark, the state coordinator of the organisation, Mohammed Mohammed, appealed to INEC to play its role diligently in the conduct of the general elections as enshrined in the constitution, insisting that peaceful and credible elections could only be conducted through an unbiased umpire.

   Meanwhile, the PDP Integrity Vanguard, expressed concerns about the planned use of card readers, submitting that there were doubts about its application and success particularly as INEC had not experimented it anywhere in the country.

   Faulting the distribution of PVCs, the group said it is concerned that Jega attributed INEC’s decision to postpone the date of the election entirely to the advice he had received from security agencies.

  “This does not accurately reflect the situation on ground. In his presentation to Council of States a few days before, the chairman of INEC admitted that a number of critical elements for free, fair and credible elections were not yet in place. 

   According to the group, “the statistics presented on the distribution of PVCs defy logic. We observe that in states as Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, where insurgency has presented the most serious security challenges leading to mass displacement of persons, some of who reside in IDP camps or have left their states, the PVC collection rate, translated to 1,320,667 PVCs out of 1,934,079 registered voters. Yobe State, with 1,099,970 registered voters had 824,401 (74.95 per cent) PVCs collected. 

   “In comparison, Enugu State, with 1,429,221 registered voters (higher than Yobe State) had collected only 761,185 PVCs (less than Yobe State). There are other examples. 

    On application of card readers, the group said: “PDP Integrity Vanguard is also worried about the card reader, which INEC says will be used in the upcoming elections. The concern of our group is based on the propriety of use of a technology that has never been demonstrated or tested in any Nigerian locality or previous elections. Since INEC insists on using this technology, the PDP integrity Vanguard group insists that its use must be uniform across the entire country. It must not be used in some parts of the country and not in other parts.”

   “Like the APC, PDP Integrity Vanguard is also concerned about the Internally Displaced People (IDPs). However, the PDP Integrity Vanguard identifies not just IDPs in the North East States that were displaced by Boko Haram, but IDPs who have fled from one part of the country to the other as a result of the election related threats and violence. 

   ‘PDP Integrity Vanguard expects that arrangements should be made for those affected to vote. The disenfranchisement of these people needs to be seriously addressed and solutions found within the next six (6) weeks.”