The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has said that idea of a possible postponement of the February 2015 general elections smacks of moral debauchery.
It further described the call as diversionary and unpatriotic request, stressing that any suggestion for a postponement coming from one party to the exclusion of others must be viewed with suspicion.
MURIC said that since the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has not made such a request, but repeatedly given assurances of a hitch-free election, any contemplation of postponement will send the wrong signals to the international community that Nigeria is yet to get it right.
It said that the postponement is a “potential satanic motivation for actualizing the alleged plot for a military takeover by army officers who are allies of the ruling party or give advocatus diaboli both within and outside enough time for a grand conspiracy against our dear country.”
“With Sambo Dasuki’s call for a postponement of Nigeria’s general elections which is less than three weeks away, the National Security Adviser has donned the garb of a confusionist.
“His call shows that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is in disarray. They have seen the handwriting on the wall. With excited mammoth crowds attending opposition rallies, with unenthusiastic rented crowds at the rallies of the ruling party, with party chieftains and their followers leaving the ruling party in droves at the eleventh hour, Dasuki is embarking on damage-control tactics. But it is too late. The ruling party has crossed the Rubicon,” it said in a statement signed by its Director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola Bello.
It said that Sambo Dasuki’s excuse that the INEC needs more time to ensure all qualified Nigerians receive cards for the vote is “lame, deceitful and untenable. The electoral body has assured the nation times without number that all eligible voters will get their permanent voters’ cards (PVC) before the election. How can Dasuki know INEC more than INEC itself? We have no iota of doubt that Dasuki has a hidden agenda. This man is stalling.”
“MURIC strongly advises INEC to ignore Dasuki’s attempt at procrastination. We remind the electoral body that procrastination is the thief of time. We also remind INEC that it has a name to protect. Its honour is at stake and any attempt to compromise will rob the electoral body of its hard-earned integrity. The ruling party’s time is up. This is why it is bent on stealing the nation’s time. Nigerians must jealously guard against this.”
The group advised President Jonathan to seek the path of honour and a soft landing out of Aso Rock, adding that seeking tenure extension through the backdoor is out of the question.
“It is an additional proof of cluelessness. True democrats allow vox populi via one man one vote. Tenure extension was first attempted during the National Conference but it was rejected. Now he is making another frantic effort to smuggle it into the electoral exercise.
“Mr. President repeatedly assured Nigerians that 2015 election was sacrosanct. So why is he seeking a postponement? Nigerians cannot trust a president who will not walk his talk. It is a matter of integrity. We said it severally before that this president cannot organize a free and fair election.
“A man who installed somebody who scored 16 as chairman of Governors Forum and persecuted the other who scored 19 cannot be expected to do better. We cannot expect fairness from a man who gave 203 to Christians and 189 to Muslims during the last National Conference. The words ‘fairness’, ‘justice’ and ‘equity’ are missing in Aso Rock’s vocabulary,” it said.
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