PDP Rejects New Election Dates, Fingers Foulplay by APC

By Francis Emekwe

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Saturday rejected the new dates announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission for the conduct of the general elections.

The National Chairman of the party, Prince Secondus, in a release said the pronouncements made by the Chairman of the INEC Commissioner, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu in the early hours of Saturday that the elections had been postponed was a deliberate agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari to cling on to power even when it said it was obvious to him that Nigerians wanted him out.

Mr. Secondus alleged that the postponement was part of a grand design by the All Progressives Congress to thwart the will of Nigerians at all cost, adding that the action had clearly exposed INEC as a failure and called on its chairman to resign immediately.

The PDP leader warned that the party will not accept anything short of a well organised electoral process devoid of manipulation, harassment and intimidation of voters and the opposition particularly members of the PDP.

He further said that the wicked killing of over 66 persons mostly women and children in Southern Kaduna on the eve of election was a copious ploy by the APC to frighten the people away from voting, knowing too well that they were not going to record any vote from the area.

Prince Secondus also regretted that President Buhari who made a promise at the signing of peace accord that the election would be conducted in a fair and transparent atmosphere had gone ahead in breach of the peace agreements to by sending soldiers and other security agencies to arrest, harass and intimidate opponents in Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Kwara, Kano, Kaduna states.