2019 :PDP Cautions INEC Over Plot To Shift 2019 Elections

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Wednesday warned the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu not to allow the Presidency to use him to execute a plot to frustrate the conduct of credible 2019 elections and push for illegal tenure elongation for President Muhammadu Buhari.

The party said it was aware that the mooting of postponement of the already scheduled polls by the INEC Chairman, “Is a product of series of clandestine meetings between his commission and the APC on ways to frustrate the 2019 elections, having realized that there is no hope for President Buhari.”

The PDP in a statement also said “Nigerians and the international community have also noted plans by INEC to frustrate credible elections. Including its stiff opposition to the amendment of the Electoral Act by the National Assembly to check APC rigging plans in addition to its exposed collaborations with INEC to manipulate the voters register, enrol underage voters and secretly creating 30,000 illegal polling centres in certain remote areas from where it plans to allocate fictitious votes to the APC.

The statement continued, “Nigerians may recall that the PDP had earlier alerted of the plot by the Presidency to enmesh the 2019 elections into a needless controversy by deliberately delaying the presentation of the election budget to the National Assembly until the time the parliament was proceeding on annual recess.

“Ostensibly to ensure that the election does not escape controversy, President Buhari demanded that the fund be taken from already approved budget for lawmakers’ constituency votes, despite entreaties by well-meaning Nigerians for a fresh budget for the elections.

“Seeing that Nigerians are standing shoulder to shoulder with the PDP to resist and dismantle their rigging machinery, the APC and Buhari Presidency are now trying to use INEC to frustrate the elections and cause crisis in our country.” While insisting it would reject any move for a postponement of the polls, the party maintained that “The 2019 election must hold as scheduled.”