The African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Campaign Council has warned that reports of pressure on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to shift the 16 January presidential election cannot be dismissed.
The Council said the election is just 80 days away and that if President Bola Tinubu believes Nigerians want another four years of his government, he should face them at the ballot box and not seek more time through the back door.
In a statement on Wednesday issued by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, the Council said it has received information that the INEC Chairman is to be summoned to the Presidential Villa and instructed to shift the election.
“We are raising the alarm before that meeting takes place,” the statement said.
The Council called on President Tinubu to abandon any such attempt.
“President Tinubu must abandon any such attempt. Joash Amupitan must refuse any instruction to change the timetable and immediately make any such approach public. The election date belongs to Nigerians.
“It must not be rewritten behind closed doors at the Villa,” it said.
The Council said Nigerians have endured three and a half years of soaring prices, shrinking incomes and relentless hardship, and have the right to judge the government at the ballot box on 16 January.
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“A government that has made life this difficult for Nigerians must not be allowed to postpone its day of judgment.”
Ebola must not become an excuse
The ADC Campaign Council said Ebola is a serious public health concern and that health professionals must be free to contain it, while INEC must take every necessary step to protect voters and election workers.
It noted that the Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has said there is currently no reason to postpone the election.
“That position must not be twisted into a political excuse for delay. The Council puts INEC, domestic observers and international election monitors on notice: any proposal to change the timetable must be made openly, supported by published health evidence and subjected to public scrutiny,” it added.
“The Presidency must not use a health emergency to escape an electoral verdict.”
