According to the Nigerian constitution the electoral commission as the power to postpone the election date to a minimum of 6 months to a maximum of 2 years if a state of war is declared by the president.
Former Vice President, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku yesterday said that he would vehemently oppose any attempt by either the Federal Government or the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to defer the conduct of elections in his home Adamawa State in 2015.He spoke against the backdrop of the growing insecurity in the north where insurgents from Boko Haram Islamic sect have killed thousands of Nigerians.Atiku and Jonathan In any case, the former Vice President wandered why insurgency has been allowed by the authorities to gain undue acceleration to the extent that Boko Haram has invaded and declared some parts of the country a conquered territory while hoisting their flag.Atiku who fielded questions from Journalists on the state of the nation from his Asokoro, Abuja residence was visibly upset and angry over the apparent unbridled resilience being shown by the deadly sect without a commensurate force from nation’s the security agencies.While recalling the tenacity of former President Olusegun Obasanjo over a similar insurgent group in Yobe state when they were in office, Atiku submitted that the armed forces and the federal government must find a substantial way to crush the insurgents in the north, stressing that a situation where they have been allowed to thrive for over 4 years was inconceivable.He said: “I will kick against elections not holding in my state because in my state, only two local governments are affected. We have 21 local governments. Only two are affected. And if elections could be held in Afghanistan with deadlier Taliban, I see no reason why we cannot hold elections in Nigeria. Our armed forces must be well equipped and deployed to effectively tackle the situation for elections to hold.“I am absolutely upset and angry about insecurity in this country. I don’t believe as a country we have done enough to secure this country. This bunch of insurgents have been operating for nearly 4, 5 years now. Then knowing Nigeria, we used to pride ourselves as one of the best armed forces in the world. I really don’t know where things have gone wrong. Is it the armed forces? Is it the political leadership? I just can’t believe what is happening.“I am not in a position to explain. I am not in government but honestly, I don’t believe this is a situation that Nigeria would not have dealt a very, very fatal blow within 3 to 6 months. Because, I remember when we were in office, there was such a group that wanted to emerge in Yobe. We smashed that group within a couple of weeks completely.“That such a group should be allowed 4, 5 years operating in this country, saying that they even occupied some parts of the country, hoisting flags and no body is doing anything, please, help me ask. I am very upset and angry about it. Honestly. When I went to visit the son of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, I said I wished I was a young man. I would have gone to the front to fight. What is this? It is unbelievable what is happening. Please, ask them.”No automatic ticket in APCAtiku who is due for the declaration of his presidential ambition for the third time in the series since 2007 after vacating office as Vice to ex- President Obasanjo on September 24, 2014 asked those mooting for an automatic ticket in All Progressive Congress, APC, to think again.According to him, automatic ticket was undemocratic even as he insisted that such was not enshrined in the constitution of APC.“Those who are canvassing for automatic ticket are scared of contest. There is nothing to be scared of in a democratic setting. How can you canvass for an automatic ticket in a democratic process? There’s nothing nothing like that.“As far as zoning is concerned, we don’t have zoning in the constitution of APC. The race is open for everybody. We don’t have zoning unlike the PDP where it is entrenched in their constitution. Even though it is entrenched, it has been violated,” he stated.Presidency not for north or southPersuaded to see reasons why north must support the south having clung onto power for upward 36 years during the military era, the former Vice President said that that didn’t matter, saying that Nigerians must be allowed to vote for their preferred candidate.His words: “Allow Nigerians to vote for whosoever they want to vote. If they decide to vote fir Jonathan again, so be it. If they decide to vote for somebody else, so be it. I think that we remove these elements of sub division, religion or ethnicity. The point is that Even when the military governed this country, if they picked their head of state from the south, deputy or vice us coming from the north. We know that this country is composed of regions, multi-ethnic groups and there has to be a representation. Whoever is governing must be seen to accommodate every interest group in this country. So, as far as I concerned, Nigerians should be left free to elect their leader from wherever.”Why PDP has remained in powerThe former Presidential candidate offered insights on why the his former political party, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has dominated the political firmament of Nigeria since 1999. He said the APC was now a credible alternative.“Let me say that why the PDP has been in power for this long is because the opposition has been fragmented. I think now they are trying to come together, you can see that basically we are moving toward a two party system. Then, Nigerians in the opposition will see that there is an alternative. Before, they felt there was no alternative. The opposition was fragmented. That was why I feel the opposition was having it all along. But Nigerians are sophisticated enough to reasons to believe there is an alternative to PDP,” he said.Outside me, I will support whoever wins APC ticketAsked why it has almost become his hobby to always seek public mandate to govern the country after many unsuccessful bids in the past, the Adamawa born politician said he couldn’t give up on Nigeria.He said: “How can I be discouraged? You are just asking me to give up on Nigeria. I have no other place to go. I don’t. So, why should I give up on Nigeria. I can’t not give up until I can no longer or do not have the capacity or the strength. There is no way i can give up on Nigeria.”Should he fail to secure the presidential ticket of his party, Atiku said “I will support the party if at the end of the day, I was unable to pick up the ticket. That is what is logical. I will support my party to win the election.”While urging Nigerians to ensure a credible election process by INEC, the Turaki Adamawa found justification for the creation of more polling units embarked by the electoral management body recently.“I think it is based on voting population. Believe me I watch in some states like Lagos, Kano you find out that in one polling unit, it has to subsided into about 4 or 5 even 10 units because of the number of registered voters in that polling unit. So, I think if they subdivide them and eventually convert them into their own independent polling units, I don’t think there is something unusual about it, it is just what is practically on the ground because one unit may have more than 2000 persons registered to vote, for God’s sake, you can not get 2000 persons to vote within the limited time of voting.“Political parties should also help to police INEC very, very closely. If the political parties as well as the electorates, together with the NGOs are able to police INEC, it will have no other alternative than to conduct a credible election even though I still admit that structurally, INEC is defective in conducting free and fair elections’, Atiku stressed. - See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/09/ill-kick-elections-postponement-atiku-warns-fg-inec/#sthash.t0OheZT1.dpuf
Former Vice President, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku yesterday said that he would vehemently oppose any attempt by either the Federal Government or the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to defer the conduct of elections in his home Adamawa State in 2015.He spoke against the backdrop of the growing insecurity in the north where insurgents from Boko Haram Islamic sect have killed thousands of Nigerians.Atiku and Jonathan In any case, the former Vice President wandered why insurgency has been allowed by the authorities to gain undue acceleration to the extent that Boko Haram has invaded and declared some parts of the country a conquered territory while hoisting their flag.Atiku who fielded questions from Journalists on the state of the nation from his Asokoro, Abuja residence was visibly upset and angry over the apparent unbridled resilience being shown by the deadly sect without a commensurate force from nation’s the security agencies.While recalling the tenacity of former President Olusegun Obasanjo over a similar insurgent group in Yobe state when they were in office, Atiku submitted that the armed forces and the federal government must find a substantial way to crush the insurgents in the north, stressing that a situation where they have been allowed to thrive for over 4 years was inconceivable.He said: “I will kick against elections not holding in my state because in my state, only two local governments are affected. We have 21 local governments. Only two are affected. And if elections could be held in Afghanistan with deadlier Taliban, I see no reason why we cannot hold elections in Nigeria. Our armed forces must be well equipped and deployed to effectively tackle the situation for elections to hold.“I am absolutely upset and angry about insecurity in this country. I don’t believe as a country we have done enough to secure this country. This bunch of insurgents have been operating for nearly 4, 5 years now. Then knowing Nigeria, we used to pride ourselves as one of the best armed forces in the world. I really don’t know where things have gone wrong. Is it the armed forces? Is it the political leadership? I just can’t believe what is happening.“I am not in a position to explain. I am not in government but honestly, I don’t believe this is a situation that Nigeria would not have dealt a very, very fatal blow within 3 to 6 months. Because, I remember when we were in office, there was such a group that wanted to emerge in Yobe. We smashed that group within a couple of weeks completely.“That such a group should be allowed 4, 5 years operating in this country, saying that they even occupied some parts of the country, hoisting flags and no body is doing anything, please, help me ask. I am very upset and angry about it. Honestly. When I went to visit the son of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, I said I wished I was a young man. I would have gone to the front to fight. What is this? It is unbelievable what is happening. Please, ask them.”No automatic ticket in APCAtiku who is due for the declaration of his presidential ambition for the third time in the series since 2007 after vacating office as Vice to ex- President Obasanjo on September 24, 2014 asked those mooting for an automatic ticket in All Progressive Congress, APC, to think again.According to him, automatic ticket was undemocratic even as he insisted that such was not enshrined in the constitution of APC.“Those who are canvassing for automatic ticket are scared of contest. There is nothing to be scared of in a democratic setting. How can you canvass for an automatic ticket in a democratic process? There’s nothing nothing like that.“As far as zoning is concerned, we don’t have zoning in the constitution of APC. The race is open for everybody. We don’t have zoning unlike the PDP where it is entrenched in their constitution. Even though it is entrenched, it has been violated,” he stated.Presidency not for north or southPersuaded to see reasons why north must support the south having clung onto power for upward 36 years during the military era, the former Vice President said that that didn’t matter, saying that Nigerians must be allowed to vote for their preferred candidate.His words: “Allow Nigerians to vote for whosoever they want to vote. If they decide to vote fir Jonathan again, so be it. If they decide to vote for somebody else, so be it. I think that we remove these elements of sub division, religion or ethnicity. The point is that Even when the military governed this country, if they picked their head of state from the south, deputy or vice us coming from the north. We know that this country is composed of regions, multi-ethnic groups and there has to be a representation. Whoever is governing must be seen to accommodate every interest group in this country. So, as far as I concerned, Nigerians should be left free to elect their leader from wherever.”Why PDP has remained in powerThe former Presidential candidate offered insights on why the his former political party, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has dominated the political firmament of Nigeria since 1999. He said the APC was now a credible alternative.“Let me say that why the PDP has been in power for this long is because the opposition has been fragmented. I think now they are trying to come together, you can see that basically we are moving toward a two party system. Then, Nigerians in the opposition will see that there is an alternative. Before, they felt there was no alternative. The opposition was fragmented. That was why I feel the opposition was having it all along. But Nigerians are sophisticated enough to reasons to believe there is an alternative to PDP,” he said.Outside me, I will support whoever wins APC ticketAsked why it has almost become his hobby to always seek public mandate to govern the country after many unsuccessful bids in the past, the Adamawa born politician said he couldn’t give up on Nigeria.He said: “How can I be discouraged? You are just asking me to give up on Nigeria. I have no other place to go. I don’t. So, why should I give up on Nigeria. I can’t not give up until I can no longer or do not have the capacity or the strength. There is no way i can give up on Nigeria.”Should he fail to secure the presidential ticket of his party, Atiku said “I will support the party if at the end of the day, I was unable to pick up the ticket. That is what is logical. I will support my party to win the election.”While urging Nigerians to ensure a credible election process by INEC, the Turaki Adamawa found justification for the creation of more polling units embarked by the electoral management body recently.“I think it is based on voting population. Believe me I watch in some states like Lagos, Kano you find out that in one polling unit, it has to subsided into about 4 or 5 even 10 units because of the number of registered voters in that polling unit. So, I think if they subdivide them and eventually convert them into their own independent polling units, I don’t think there is something unusual about it, it is just what is practically on the ground because one unit may have more than 2000 persons registered to vote, for God’s sake, you can not get 2000 persons to vote within the limited time of voting.“Political parties should also help to police INEC very, very closely. If the political parties as well as the electorates, together with the NGOs are able to police INEC, it will have no other alternative than to conduct a credible election even though I still admit that structurally, INEC is defective in conducting free and fair elections’, Atiku stressed. - See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/09/ill-kick-elections-postponement-atiku-warns-fg-inec/#sthash.t0OheZT1.dpuf
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