Edo election postponement a coup – PDP

To this end, the main opposition party has insisted that the September 10 date is sacrosanct.

The party argued that there is no justification to tamper with the election as initially scheduled.

A statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the Ahmed Makarfi-led group of the party, Dayo Adeyeye, said the shift in the polls signals a bad signal for the nation’s democracy.

Adeyeye called on President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly to conduct a non-partisan holistic investigation of the national security apparatus.

Recall that the Department of State Services (DSS) and Nigeria Police had on Wednesday asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to postpone the election, citing security concerns.

The move, the party alleged, is an “ingenious attempt to buy time for the APC”, knowing full well that it would lose the poll should it be conducted on September 10.

It described the postponement as not only illegal but also unconstitutional and a breach of the peoples’ trust in the Commission and the security agencies.

“It is shameful and indeed a major constitutional breach for the security agencies to act in concert with the APC to truncate an Election that had been planned for months. Nigerians were not deceived by the obvious concoctions of the security agencies whose performances during elections have been less than average since the advent of the Buhari Administration. Indeed they have become instruments in the hands of the ruling party to harass, intimidate and punish opponents.

“The postponement of the Election by INEC is a coup against the people of Edo State in particular and Nigerians in general. Since APC assumed power, virtually all elections conducted by INEC have either been inconclusive or truncated. Saturday’s Election in Edo State must be an exemption. We will not accept anything less than free, fair and transparent election conducted and concluded the same day. INEC must rise to the occasion to restore the confidence of Nigerians in its operations. Edo is a test case. With the way INEC is performing, how are we sure that it would be able to handle the 2019 national elections. Our democracy is under a serious threat from the APC and its Gestapo security agencies,” the statement reads.