Prominent elder statesmen react to elections postponement

- Prominent Nigerian elder-statesmen have reacted to the postponement of the elections

- The elder statesmen, including Emeka Anyaoku, Ayo Adebanjo and others, describe the development as embarrassing

- The chairman of UPP, Chekwas Okorie, said he was very disappointed that INEC doesn’t seem to have learnt any lesson from previous postponements

Prominent Nigerian elder-statesmen have reacted to the postponement of the presidential and National Assembly elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s national chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu.

The elder-statesmen who spoke to Vanguard lamented the postponement. The elder statesmen were former Commonwealth secretary-general, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, a chieftain of Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, the national chairman of United Progressives Party (UPP), Chief Chekwas Okorie and former governor of Anambra state, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife.

Chief Anyaoku said he was shocked upon hearing the news saying “I am very surprised and disappointed”.

In his own reaction, the UPP chairman, Okorie said: “I am very disappointed that INEC doesn’t seem to have learnt any lesson from previous postponements. That it happened before is not an excuse for it to happen again. As a matter of fact that should be more reason it should not happen again. Up till that announcement, they continued to reassure the public that they were ready for the elections.”

On his part Chief Adebanjo said: “…It is a shame that with all the money spent and preparations made, Mahmood Yakubu can tell us that it was due to an administrative mistake. We understand that the issue INEC had was in Kano and Sokoto which are PDP strongholds. But the development is totally condemnable.”

The former governor of Anambra state, Ezeife, also frowned at the postponement.

“It is not something that I want to talk about. It’s too much of a failure. It’s a dastard act. It portends everything negative to us as a nation. As it is more than a shame, it is more than a failure, it is something too embarrassing for me to talk about. If things like this continue in our nation, it is only God that can save Nigeria. If Nigeria will change it will be to the benefit of everybody,” he said.

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Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) through its chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, announced the postponement of the 2019 elections in the early hours of Saturday, February 16.

The presidential and national assembly elections was shifted from Saturday, February 16 to Saturday, February 23 while governorship and state house was postponed to March 9.

The INEC boss said that the rescheduled elections would give the commission the opportunity to address identified challenges in order to maintain the quality of the elections.

“Following a careful review of the implementation of its logistics and operational plan and the determination to conduct free, fair and credible elections, the commission came to the conclusion that proceeding with the elections as scheduled is no longer feasible.

“Consequently, the Commission has decided to reschedule the Presidential and National Assembly Elections to Saturday, 23rd February 2019.

“Furthermore, the Governorship, State House of Assembly and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council Elections is rescheduled to Saturday 9th March 2019. This will afford the Commission the opportunity to address identified challenges in order to maintain the quality of our elections," the INEC boss said at a press briefing morning held at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.

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