Fashola Picks PVC, Tackles FG over Postponement of Election

“Well I have my PVC now and I want to still encourage those who have not collected theirs to try and do so even today and I hope that with the postponement of the elections, from Saturday next week to March 28 and April 11, INEC will also consider extending the time within which people can still get the PVC.”, he said.

He also faulted the postponement of the elections earlier scheduled for February 14 and 28, saying the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was ambushed and hoodwinked by the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) and Federal Government into postponing the elections.

Fashola who was fielding questions from Journalists shortly after collecting his PVC noted that the ruling party scored an own goal of failure by shifting the elections as a result of its inefficiency.

“I think that the reality is that INEC was ambushed by the PDP and the federal government and I think Nigerians must be disappointed but I use this opportunity to appeal to Nigerians to remain calm, especially to the supporter and members of the APC.

“This is just a matter of time and the momentum of change is already on and the momentum is a Nigerian people momentum, but it’s just that it would have consequences for us as a nation, the credibility of our governance is regrettably diminished.

“I don’t know any serious democracy in recent times that have set date and then changes them, except perhaps the last one was when a British Prime Minister backed down from elections, and you know what happened in the end, he was still defeated. I think that when a country sets in motion a process like this, it ought to know that there would be political and economic consequences and that is why investors watch what is going on and the global community.

” I mean, its disappointing, to put it lively. When you now even hear the presidency, the Federal Government, PDP saying they cannot guarantee security, they say it with such relish as if they have a choice in guaranteeing security. That is the primary purpose of government and when you say it in order to ambush an electoral manager into not conducting an election because you are afraid of defeat,”

He argued that whether the nation go to elections or not, government have a duty to secure the country, if countries like Afghanistan, Syria and all those countries where there was war and internal conflicts have held elections it is sad that Nigeria is postponing its elections on security ground.

” Do not even forget, we held elections in 2011. Some of these terror attacks have started as far back as 2010. So, where was the ability to guarantee security then? So, I think Nigerians can see beyond this smokescreen, but it is a deferment of the imminent date of change,” he said.