Oludamisi Ojo, Akure
With less than a month to the exercise, a Christian evangelist in South-West Nigeria, Samson Oluwamodede, has warned against postponing the 2023 general elections.
Oluwamodede said shifting the election might lead to ‘war and unrest’ in the country, adding that Nigeria needs peace at this critical time.
The cleric, who also doubles as the General Overseer of the Prayer Centre Church of God (PCCG), stated this in his prophecy in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
“Nigeria may postpone the (general) election. If they postpone it, something may happen. I repeat, something unbearable may happen,” Oluwamodede prophesised during a church programme. So, we don’t want them to postpone it. We don’t war. We don’t want a crisis. We don’t want chaos. Let there be peace in Nigeria.”
On Monday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said the prevailing security challenge in the country could lead to the ‘cancellation/or postponement’ of the next month’s election.
National Chairman of INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, stated this at the validation of election security training resources held in Abuja.
He noted that election security was vital in conducting a free, fair, and credible exercise in the country.
“If the insecurity is not monitored and dealt with decisively, it could ultimately culminate in the cancellation and/or postponement of elections in sufficient constituencies to hinder declaration of election results and precipitate a constitutional crisis,” Yakubu, represented by the Chairman, Board of Electoral Institute, Abdullahi Zuru, said at the event.
The electoral body had announced February 25 and March 12, 2023, for the presidential and national assembly and governorship elections respectively.
It also disclosed that eighteen political parties fielded candidates for the exercise.
We’re being denied access to PVC collection, interreligious group raises alarm
*No plan to cancel polls, says FG
The Federal Government yesterday assured that the general elections slated to hold this year (February and March) will go on as planned.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made the declaration at the 17th edition of the PMB Administration Scorecard series in Abuja.
INEC had Monday said elections may not hold in sufficient polling units if the current security situation didn’t abate.
Chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, said this in a message to the validation of election security training resources in Abuja.
He spoke through the Chairman of the Board of Electoral Institute (BEI), Prof Abdullahi Abdu Zuru.
“Moreover, if the insecurity is not monitored and dealt with decisively, it could ultimately culminate in the cancellation and/or postponement of elections in sufficient constituencies to hinder the declaration of elections results and precipitate a constitutional crisis. This must not be allowed to happen and shall not be allowed to happen.
“Therefore, security personnel in particular and all elected officials, in general, must be security conscious and alert to unusual activities in their environment and must be fully equipped to deal with any challenge at all times,” he had charged.
But in a counter position, Mohammed said, “Before I invite the Honourable Minister of Health to the podium, let me use this opportunity to respond to inquiries from the media over a widely-circulated report, credited to an INEC official, that the 2023 general elections face a serious threat of cancellation due to insecurity.
“The position of the Federal Government remains that the 2023 elections will be held as planned. Nothing has happened to change that position. We are aware that INEC is working with security agencies to ensure that the elections are successfully held across the country.
“The security agencies have also continued to assure Nigerians that they are working tirelessly to ensure that the elections are held in a peaceful atmosphere. Therefore, there is no cause for alarm.”
