The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has claimed that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, was manipulated by the presidency to postpone the presidential and National Assembly elections initially slated for today.
HURIWA further described as disappointing and shameful the eleventh hour decision of INEC Chairman, Yakubu Mahmood to postpone the long scheduled Presidential and National Assembly’s polls by a week.
According to HURIWA’s statement forwarded to DAILY POST on Saturday in reaction to the development, the postponement was a demonstration that INEC under Mahmood was either under a spell or was being teleguided by the Presidency.
HURIWA’s statement was signed by its National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko.
It added that “This has come not as a shock because only 24 hours ago the spokesman of the unelected Northern born members of the Buhari’s Presidential cabal who is the chief of staff to President Muhammadu Buhari had warned the United States of America, the United Kingdom and the European union to steer clear of the election and that they planned to impose their predetermined candidate as the eventual winner.
“This tension from the cabal has boiled over and spulled over to the INEC’S office thereby occasioning this frenzy and panicky postponement by their lackey and sycophantic chairman of the electoral management board Yakubu Mahmood.
“The decision is the clearest sign that the current hierarchy of INEC is programmed to deliver a choreographed and highly manipulated electoral process which is predetermined by the Chairman and his cohorts to favour the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari.
“It was unfortumate and sad that after millions of Nigerians had trooped to their communities from far and near to take part in the election that was long scheduled for over four year preparatory period, the electoral umpire was yet to tidy up the arrangements for a smooth conduct of a peaceful, free, fair and transparent conduct of the general elections.”
The Rights group therefore express pessimism that “a bunch of incompetent persons who constitute the hierarchy of INEC are now unable to proceed with an election they prepared for in a four year waiting period, how can just one week now be sufficient to smoothen their crass organisational inefficiency and gross but pathetically vexatios incompetence.
“This INEC is anything but professionally and ethically transparent. After letting millions of Nigerians go through the logistical nightmares of travelling and allowing national businesses and the private sector to suspend their transactional activities with huge loses as a result, this unprepared contraption called INEC woke up in the wee hoyrs of February 16th when millions of Nigerians are still asleep to announce a nocturnal postponement of the election for which many lives were wasted by politicians as if INEC is a coven of witches and Wizards. This is the saddest day in the political annals of Nigeria.”