INEC briefs FEC, says no going back on February, March polls
· Nothing will stop polls, Obasanjo warns
· We are ready for election – APC
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, ion Wednesday, briefed the Federal Executive Council (NEC) on the readiness of the commission to conduct a free, fair and credible 2023 general election, beginning with the February 25 presidential and National Assembly polls.
This is even as former President Oliusegun Obasanjo has allayed fears that the elections may be postponed following the double header crisis created by insecurity and ongoing currency crisis accessioned by the introduction of new naira notes by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which has remained far from the reach of Nigerians.
Also expected to brief Council is the Inspector General of Police, IGP Alkali Baba on the preparation of the police in the forthcoming general elections in the country starting with the presidential election on the 25th of February.
But at about 9:58 am the cabinet meeting started, and the IGP was yet to arrive at the Council Chamber where the meeting is taking place.
The INEC chairman assured the FEC that the presidential and National Assembly elections would hold as scheduled on February 25, 2023, adding that INEC has fulfilled over 90 percent of preparations for the polls.
He said the governorship and State Houses of Assembly would also hold as scheduled on March 11, 2023.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo expressed optimism that nothing would interfere with the successful conduct of the 2023 general elections scheduled for February 25 and March 11.
Obasanjo’s comment is coming amid fear that the general elections might be postponed due to the ongoing crisis occasioned by the scarcity of fuel and new naira notes.
The former President who gave the assurance when he received the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) at his Penthouse residence located within the premises of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, Ogun State.
The ADC national leaders were led by their Chairman, Dr. Mani Ibrahim Ahmed; the National Chairman of the party, Prof. Ralph Nwosu and a former presidential aspirant of the ADC, Chukwuka Monye.
Obasanjo, who noted that said Nigeria iscurrently in an interesting period, urged the citizens to take the elections with all the seriousness it deserves as being done in developed nations.
Stating that the attention of the global community is now focused on the 2023 polls in Nigeria, he charged Nigerians, as main stakeholders to contribute towards the success of the elections.
“We are in an interesting period in Nigeria. In less than three weeks, we will be going to the polls; well, I hope nothing will intervene against that. In less than three weeks, we will be electing a leader that will pilot the affairs of Nigeria for the next four years from May.
“I have been in Togo, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire from the beginning of the week; and they are as concerned about what happens in Nigeria as every Nigerian should be.
Meanwhile the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has described reports of any possible postponement of the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections as false and reckless, noting that as a political party, it is prepared for the election
APC National Working Committee (NWC) in a statement issued Wednesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix M orka, denied reports in some media outlets that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is pushing for a postponement of the 2023 general elections.
The APC said, “The report is blatantly false and reckless, and bears no iota of credibility. Beyond its loud headline, the report offers no substantive justifying content aside from its intended purpose of misleading and causing needless anxiety and speculations regarding the upcoming elections. Our general election is matter of extreme national importance bordering on national security and corporate integrity of our country. It is not and should not become a matter for idle, rash or insensitive speculation by the media or any institution for that matter. It bears reiterating that the underlying report is FAKE NEWS.
“On record, under President Muhammadu Buhari’s leadership, our Party continues to wage the most extensive and vibrant campaign in the history of our nascent democracy seeking to elect our visionary Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, his running mate, Sen. Kashim Shettima and our Party’s governorship, national and state legislative flag bearers into office. This is in direct contrast to the lackluster and incoherent campaign of the opposition parties that have placed nothing before the electorate except their vile merchandise of lies, innuendoes and hate propaganda against the APC.”
The ruling party emphasized that President Muhammadu Buhari has left no one in doubt as to his unshakable commitment to bequeathing a befitting legacy of credible, free and fair election, adding that he has enacted unprecedented electoral reform and innovation that has placed our country in good stead to deliver 2023 general election and bolster our democratic consolidation.
“We stand ready for the general election, and remain confident that Nigerians will overwhelmingly renew our mandate in a peaceful, free and credible electoral contest,” the APC stated