Atiku’s Camp Kicks As APC Wants Election Shifted By Four Weeks
The camp of the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, on Tuesday rejected moves by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to extend the 2023 general elections by four weeks.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in its timetable had announced that the Presidential and National Assembly elections will hold on Saturday, February 25, 2023, followed by the Governorship and State Assembly elections on Saturday, March 11, 2023.
However, credible sources in the APC informed Daily Independent that the move to have the election timetable adjusted is being spearheaded by Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State.
Already, El-Rufai and two other APC governors, Yahaya Bello (Kogi) and Bello Matawalle (Zamfara), dragged the Federal Government before the Supreme Court over the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which has the blessings of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The governors are seeking a declaration that the demonetisation policy of the federation being currently carried out by the CBN under the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari is not in compliance with the extant provisions of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007 and actual laws on the subject.
They are also asking the court to make a declaration that the three-month notice given by the Federal Government and the CBN under the directive of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the expiration of which will render the old bank notes inadmissible as legal tender, is in gross violation of the provisions of section 20(3) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007 which specifies that reasonable notice must be given before such a policy and that the limit cannot be outside that provided under Section 22(1) of the CBN Act 2007.
Daily Independent source, who confirmed the plot to extend the general elections, said it may be due to the protests and hardship being witnessed as a result of the naira and fuel scarcity, which has forced some candidates and parties to suspend their campaigns.
“The APC is seeking a postponement of the election by four weeks and the move is led by Governor Nasir El-Rufai. I think it has to do with the current chaos being experienced as a result of the naira and fuel scarcity”.
Speaking with Daily Independent on Tuesday, Daniel Bwala, a spokesperson of the Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation, said anyone thinking of postponing the election doesn’t mean well for Nigeria.
“All those who are thinking of postponing the election never mean well for Nigeria and they never mean well for our democracy. They have noticed that the naira redesign policy has put them in a tight corner and they needed to buy time to wriggle their way through. They went to court to challenge the policy and the 10 days extension given by the president is coming to an end.
“When they went to court, the 10 days granted to them before the hearing of that case would have been over. With that, their matter will become academic. So, they are now seeking to extend the election by four weeks so that within this period, they will go and get ‘black market’ order from anywhere that will now say that their case is suspended”.
Bwala, who said the APC is suffering from fear of being voted out in the presidential election, wondered why the ruling party is afraid of going to the polls now when other political parties including INEC said that they are ready for the exercise.
“If you look at it from all points of view, you will notice that anybody that is seeking postponement of the election at this critical time of our national existence doesn’t mean well for our nation. INEC said they are ready for the election, the Federal Government said they are ready, political parties also said they are ready but only one political party keeps saying they are not ready and are demanding for postponement.
“That party happens to be the governing party that should be the first to be ready for the elections. Also, it is only that political party that is fighting for an extension of the naira policy because allegedly, they have stashed a large amount of the old naira notes and they want to use it for vote buying. However, this policy will not permit them to do that. They are suffering from anthropophobia which is the fear of the people and society. APC is afraid of voter backlash that the people are going to vote them out”.
Via Daily Independent
