Poll Shift: Obi appeals for continuation of PVC collection, as Obaze , others lament

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Obi addressing media men after postponement of 2019 Presidential election

APPEALS: CYNTHIA CHIDINMA IGBOKWE writes that some residents in Anambra state have described the development as unfortunate and embarrassing, even as they urged INEC to ensure that the challenges that led to the postponement would be addressed before the new date.

Vice Presidential Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Peter Obi, has appealed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to use the opportunity offered by the one-week postponement of the Presidential and National Assembly elections that ought to take place yesterday to extend the collecting Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) by registered voters who have not been able to do so.

Appeals
Obaze middle, Oranezi left and Nwobu right

Obi’s appeals: “I wish to take this opportunity to appeal to INEC to explore the extra one week window and allow voters to continue collecting their PVCs,” Obi said.

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Though he expressed dissatisfaction over the postponement of the elections, Obi aligned himself with the position of the PDP Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, both of whom earlier appealed to Nigerians to remain calm and peaceful.

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Reacting, the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate in the 2017 election in Anambra state and the state’s Chairman of the Atiku-Obi Election Council, Mr Oseloka Obaze said he was shocked on the postponement of the election despite the assurances from Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Obaze’s appeals: ‘’INEC had four years to prepare for the 2019 elections in keeping with its statutory remit. It’s last minute postponement of the elections, despite repeated assurances, lends credence to our worries that INEC was never prepared to conduct a free, fair and sufficiently credible elections.

‘’As the umpire, INEC must understand that this postponement comes at a great cost to Nigerians. Nigerians are ever ready to make their voices heard through the ballot; hence this shifting of the goalpost in the middle of the game undermines our democracy and won’t stop Nigerians from exercising their universal suffrage and passing their verdict. We join our candidate in stating that ‘you can postpone an election, but you cannot postpone destiny.’’

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Obi further admitted that the waste associated with the postponement was staggering “in view of the fact that Nigerians traveled to their states from different parts of the country and abroad to fulfill their civic duties, only to get the news of the postponement on the election day.” He, however, encouraged Nigerians to remain committed by possibly staying behind as a further demonstration of patriotism because, according to him, “no sacrifice to get Nigeria working again is a waste.”

On the argument that the PDP lacked the moral justification to condemn the postponement, having done the same in 2011 and 2015, Obi argued that the fact that elections were postponed in the past should be the reason why it should not happen again on the supposition that lessons of the past should be used to improve the future.

Pete Obi looks at the economic implication of the elections postponement. “People traveled from abroad. I urge those who travelled to sacrifice further to get Nigeria working again. He said “INEC should have learned from history.”  Any postponement should be well organized and cost saving measures imperative.”

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Peter Obi looks at the economic implication of the elections postponement: “People travelled from abroad. I urge those who traveled to sacrifice further to get Nigeria working again. He said “INEC should have learned from history.”  Any postponement should be well organized and cost saving measures imperative.”

Odogwublog.com had reported that the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in Anambra State had expressed deep concerns about what it described as “instate sabotage.”

The party expressed this concern on Thursday in Awka during a joint press conference addressed by the PDP Presidential Campaign Council Chairman, Anambra State, Oseloka H. Obaze; Anambra State Chairman of the party, Chief Ndubuisu Nwobu and the State Director-General of the Presidential Campaign, Dr. Harry Oranezi.

Issues discussed included harassment of PDP party members including the torching of boys quarters and empowerment motorcycles belonging to Hon. Gabriel Onyeweife, and two vehicles belonging to Hon. Chris Azubogu.

 The PDP leaders also expressed concern about the fire in the INEC office, Awka, the sanctity of uncollected PVCs,  and the seeming unreadiness of INEC to conduct free fair and credible elections.

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