PDP wants election postponed, APC, INEC differ

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to postpone the governorship election scheduled to hold on Saturday.

The Chairman, Caretaker Committee of the party, Ahmed Makarfi, said the postponement was necessary to allow the courts to conclude the cases before them.

Makarfi, who spoke in an interview in Kaduna said: “Whether we like it or not, we must respect what comes out from a competent court of law.”

On the decision by the appeal court panel to suspend ruling on the matter, Makarfi said: “It is not because it likes one party or dislikes the other party, the judges had weighed the issues before taking the decision. We should be law-abiding by accepting their decision in good faith.”

He also urged the Supreme Court to look at the issues from the security point of view when the matter comes up before it on Tuesday.

He said it was important to lay the disputes to rest, so that the court of appeal could conclude on the matter before the election.

“INEC should look at the time latitude that they have to create a level-playing field, so that the election would hold in a free and fair environment, provided that the polls are concluded within the time frame specified by the law,” he said.

Makarfi explained that it was important that the issue was resolved to avoid a repeat of the history of violence that happened in 1983.

According to him, if the Edo governorship election could be postponed over security threat, there is no reason the Ondo polls could not be shifted.

He urged the party members to remain law-abiding while hoping that the stakeholders would allow the voice of reason to prevail.

However, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has disagreed with the PDP’s calls for postponement.

A statement by its National Secretary, Mai Mala Buni, said the intra-party crises in the PDP were not enough to postpone the election.

The statement reads: “The PDP, in continuation of its wild conspiracies on the Ondo governorship election had also accused the APC of colluding with the judiciary, the INEC and security agencies to ‘manipulate’ the outcome of the election.

“The party’s crises and governorship candidate’s tussle are self-inflicted and the PDP cannot hold the state and the country hostage on account of its internal problems. Instead of making the ridiculous request on INEC, it should focus and redirect its energy towards putting its house in order.”

Buni said the APC was not involved in any scheme to subvert justice and undermine the participatory democracy which it stands for.

Meanwhile, the INEC at the weekend said that it would go ahead with the election on Saturday.

The commission said the conflicts within the PDP were strictly the party’s internal affairs.