Rise up against anarchists keeping Nigeria in the grip of vile leadership, he says
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Those razing down Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) offices, ballot boxes, power generators, voting cubicles, office furniture, and voter cards are anarchists seeking to keep Nigeria in the grip of callous political leaders.
This is the view of former Senator Shehu Sani, a social critic whose anti-establishment posture has cost him elections as well as false friends in the corridors of power.
“The ultimate aim of those attacking and burning down INEC offices is to sabotage the coming general elections.
“They are enemies of democracy. It’s a patriotic duty for people to defy violence and rise up against those anarchists,” Sani tweeted, per Vanguard.
He was reacting to escalated attacks on INEC infrastructure three months out from the critical ballot to determine who rules Nigeria, the old brigade doing the same vile thing or a new breed that will banish the works of malevolent men.
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INEC deploys 50% of materials, but warns attacks may scuttle voting
Three attacks in as many weeks have been launched on INEC facilities in Ogun, Osun, and Ebonyi.
However, INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu on Monday told a delegation of the African Union Special Pre-Electoral Political Mission which visited him at work at headquarters in Abuja that INEC on its own would not be deterred.
He said despite the challenges, INEC is ready to conduct free and fair elections.
“In the last three weeks, three of our local government offices were attacked in three different states across the country. The last attack happened yesterday [Sunday].
“Though there are no casualties, quite a number of the materials acquired and delivered for the election have been lost,” he confirmed.
Non-sensitive materials deployed
“The good thing is that so far, we can recover from all the losses but it is a source of concern which should not be allowed to continue,” Yakubu added.
“We will continue to engage the security agencies to make sure that our offices, personnel and facilities are protected ahead of the election.
“We may express some concern about the attack on these facilities but it will not deter the Commission from conducting the election as scheduled.
“I want to assure you that yes, we may suffer little hitches here and there, but overall, the Commission is required to proceed with the election and in the manner that the law requires us to do, using the deployment of technology for the purpose of accreditation and uploading of polling units’ results.
“We are confident to say at this point, three months to the election, about 50 per cent of non-sensitive materials have been deployed to locations. We are making good progress indeed.”
