The United States government, through its secretary of state, John Kerry has expressed disappointment at the decision of Nigeria’s electoral commission to shift the date of the general elections from February 14 to March 28 and April 11, 2015.
Despite citing the inability of INEC to ensure security as the reason for postponing the election, John Kerry said that “it is critical that the government not use security concerns as a pretext for impeding the democratic process”.
The opposition party, the All Progressives Congress has also decried INEC’s decision to postpone the elections and claimed that INEC’s reasons for postponing the elections are not genuine.
Responding to the APC’s allegations, the Director of Media and Publicity of the PDPPCO, Femi Fani-Kayode, said INEC should be praised for having the courage to acknowledge its lack of preparedness for the up and coming elections and also realizing the need for more time if the election is to be smooth and successful.
Fani-Kayode said: “Since this decision has been taken in the interest of deepening democracy and in national interest, we accept it in good faith and we commend INEC’s courage and obvious commitment to ensuring a free and fair election.
“With this decision, INEC has allayed the fears of many of our citizens that they may not have had the opportunity to vote for the candidates and parties of their choice on Election Day.
“INEC has, by the decision, ensured that no one will be disenfranchised and has helped to guarantee the safety and security of every single one of our citizens during the course of the elections.
“We are constrained to take this opportunity to wholeheartedly condemn the opposition APC for its paranoid delusions and its far-fetched and childish conspiracy theories when it comes to the issue of poll shift.
“By insisting that the elections should be conducted on February 14th the opposition was not only dangerously flirting with chaos but was also putting our country firmly on the path of confrontation, division, injustice, disaster and destruction.
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