January 18, 2015 – A group known as Democracy Watch Group (DWG) says it is disturbed by calls in recent times for the 2015 general elections to be postponed and the formation of an interim government.
In a statement, President and Secretary of the group, Mr. Wale Ogunade and Nelson Ekujimi described such calls as unpatriotic, reckless, unconstitutional, illegal and a sinister invitation to anarchy and threat to national unity.
“We regard this undemocratic and frivolous call as not only a threat to public peace and national security, but also an act of treason against the Nigerian state.
“The tenure of the President and other elected office holders is 4 years from the date of swearing to the oath of office. The President took the oath of office on the 29th day of May 2011 and by virtue of Section 135 (2) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the life span of this government ends on the 28th day of May 2015.
“This is what the constitution provided for and that is what should be legally done, any other arrangement apart from this, is not only illegal and seditious, but treason because the idea of shifting the dates of the election is not contemplated nor provided for in the constitution”, the group said.
It explained that insurgency and other threats of violence did not just jump on the Nigerian state yesterday adding that the call reminds one of the dark days of military dictatorship.
The group is of the view that the 2015 general elections must hold according to law and that under no circumstances must it b postponed and an interim government formed.
The group noted that the security agencies must act decisively, impartially and professionally against this threat adding that the responsibility for peaceful and credible conduct of the 2015 general elections is a collective task of all stakeholders and that every hand must be on deck to ensure a successful outing.
