Coalition of parties warn against polls shift in Borno

A group of opposition parties in Borno under the aegis of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) had last week called for the postponement of the election, citing unresolved security challenges, problems associated with the distribution of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) and alleged harassment of opposition by members of youth vigilantes, also known as Civilian JTF.But leader […]

A group of opposition parties in Borno under the aegis of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) had last week called for the postponement of the election, citing unresolved security challenges, problems associated with the distribution of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) and alleged harassment of opposition by members of youth vigilantes, also known as Civilian JTF.
But leader of the CCPP in the state, Muktar Abdalla, at a press conference with chieftains of 16 political parties yesterday in Maiduguri, described IPAC’s call for the shift as undemocratic.
He claimed the decision to call for postponement of polls in the state was not jointly taken by all IPAC officials but a few of them and alleged that they were financially induced.
“We the 16 chairmen of different political parties sitting here are so disappointed on the call. We want to disassociate ourselves from it because some of the issues raised by IPAC have been addressed. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has achieved 70 percent distribution of PVC particularly in Borno and we wish to give credit to its officials for the introduction of smart card readers. The technology was novel in Nigeria.
Abdallah, who is also the state chairman of Action Alliance (AA), called on INEC not to yield to calls for poll shift in the state, stressing that any attempt to succumb to the call would endanger democracy.