Some political parties in Nigeria have criticized calls from certain Nigerians for the postponement of the upcoming general elections. They have urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to proceed with the elections as originally scheduled. Afe Babalola, the Chancellor of Afe Babalola University in Ado Ekiti, expressed concerns regarding the elections being conducted under the 1999 Constitution. He stated, “Any election conducted under the 1999 Constitution will merely result in recycling the same people who have brought Nigeria to grinding poverty, unemployment, underfunded education, insecurity, and huge external debt.”
In contrast, the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has maintained that the commission is fully prepared to conduct the elections as planned and does not foresee any changes to the electoral timetable. During an interview, Felix Morka, the National Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress, dismissed the calls for postponement, asserting that the country is committed to moving forward with the elections.
Similarly, Major Agboh, the National Publicity Secretary of the New Nigerian Peoples Party, criticized the postponement suggestion, questioning whether past elections were not conducted under the same constitution. He emphasized the importance of upholding democratic processes, stating, “I think that is not patriotic enough because whether he likes it or not, we are in a democracy, and a president and governors have to emerge.”
Ralph Nwosu, the National Chairman of the Africa Democratic Congress, also argued against postponement, asserting that it would not benefit Nigeria’s democracy. He remarked, “Postponement cannot help our democracy; INEC has assured us consistently from all the meetings that we have been to that they are ready to proceed. INEC, the body managing the electoral process, is ready; the only thing that we need from the President is to show determination and get the security agencies, the intelligence agencies, and others to key in.”
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