It is a disaster – Tinubu

Action Congress of Nigeria’s (ACN) National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, yesterday described the postponement of the National Assembly election as a disaster. He said the Jonathan Administration and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have failed the country.

He said Nigeria, the acclaimed giant of Africa, could not learn instructive lessons from Ghana which successfully held general elections and transferred power without any hitch.

Tinubu who described the postponement as a shame, said the Federal Government should quit if those at the helm of affairs cannot live up to expectations of Nigerians.

The former Lagos State governor said President Goodluck Jonathan should take responsibility for the shortcomings which marred the exercise and made its postponement more compelling.

“You cannot call this an election”, insisted the eminent politician, who also accused the electoral commission of shoddy preparations and insensitivity to criticisms.

Tinubu had arrived the Polling Unit 047 along Sunday Adigun Street, Alausa, Ikeja, around 11.11am for the accreditation, shortly after  his  mother, the President-General of Market Men and Women Association of Nigeria, Alhaja Abibat Mogaji, who was accredited at 9.40am by the polling agents.

Shortly after the accreditation, he reviewed the exercise, saying that the field reports reaching him showed that the polling materials were not accompanied by Report Sheets, which were also critical to the exercise.

He contended that the “physical problems” that assailed the botched poll could have been avoided if the FG and INEC had been up and doing.

However, when he returned to cast his vote, reports about the cancellation and subsequent postponement of the election was made known to him . He immediately left the polling booth for home.

He told reporters that, given the shortage of materials and lack of adequate preparations by the electoral commission, it was better  to postpone it than to go ahead with the shoddy polls.

Tinubu berated INEC for disappointing Nigerians, who he said, were prepared to exercise their civic responsibilities peacefully, adding that the exercise was a disaster.

He said the systemic failure couldn’t be rationalised by the INEC and FG. 

“I will expect a leader who sees a shortcoming to take responsibility”, added Tinubu, who also had harsh words for the National Assembly over its delay in passing the necessary legislation for the exercise.

Tinubu said: “This is terrible for Nigeria. Ghana conducted an election successfully. The giant of Nigeria cannot conduct a successful election. It is a shame. You cannot call this an election”

The former governor lamented that the frequent interference in the electoral process by the FG, various government agencies and individuals have derailed the process, adding that unscrupulous people swarmed on INEC for contracts because of billions of naira voted for the exercise.

Tinubu said the struggle for liberty must continue until the coast is clear for one-man- one-vote and Nigerians are able to vote and be voted for without encumberance.

“If you cannot develop a system that will work for people transparently, the Federal Government has failed. This Federal Government must resign”,  he added.

Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), led by Hon. Olawale Oshun, said in a statement by one of its officials, Mr Dipo Famakinwa, that democracy has been eroded.

“The postponement of the election speaks volumes about our inability to organise ourselves and manage a country as vast as Nigeria. We knew these elections should hold long time ago. This postponement is therefore a sad reflection of of our lack of integrated institutional capacity for any major national undertaking. 

“What now happens to the election materials that are lying in the air? What about the votes that have been cast? We urge Nigerians  not to allow this situation to dampen their spirit. The sacking of the present leadership is a task that must be done”, he added.