The All Progressive Congress (APC) has hailed Yobe State Gov. Ibrahim Geidam as well as the entire people of the state for the peaceful and hitch-free conduct of the state’s local government election on Dec. 28th 2013.
In a statement issued in Lagos on Thursday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party called on INEC to borrow a leaf from the Yobe State Independent Electoral Commission on how to organize elections, having bungled the two elections conducted by it in Delta and Anambra recently
The party said it was not only delighted that the APC swept the polls, but that the election, which was observed by many NGOs and the chairmen of 15 State Independent Electoral Commissions, among others, was widely adjudged to have been free, fair and credible, in addition to witnessing a huge turnout of voters.
It said coming at a time that INEC and its paymasters have started flying their kite of shame of a possible non-conduct of general elections in the state as well as the two others under a state of emergency in 2015, the successful local government polls have shown that the only impediment to the conduct of elections in the states is a federal government that has ulterior motives and one that is mortally afraid of its own shadows, as well as a conniving INEC that is independent only in name.
The party said it was particularly remarkable that the people of the state turned out in large numbers, without a single report of election-related or any other violence during, immediately before and after the election, because of the significance of local government election as the number one barometer to measure grassroots’ participation in democratic governance.
”With what has happened in the Yobe local government election, it stands to reason and logic that any other election in the state will attract an equally-massive turnout, if not more, and that the people of the state are determined to ensure the survival of democracy and to seize the initiative from a few die-hard insurgents prancing the state.
”This is why we in the APC believe that Gov. Geidam deserves every possible accolade he can get for his courage, strong belief in democracy and a determined effort to ensure that a few renegades cannot hijack a whole state. We therefore commend this quintessential democrat and urge him to continue with his good works in the state.
”We have no doubt that this trail-blazing effort by Gov. Geidam will be a source of inspiration to other states that are under a state of emergency, as well as to an INEC that could not even successfully organize an election in one Senatorial District in Delta.
”We therefore call on the blundering and floundering INEC to immediately dispatch some of its top officials to Yobe State to understudy the art of election conduct, even in an environment that poses a great challenge. After all, Yobe has shown that the main reason INEC cannot organize successful polls is that it sabotages its own elections,” APC said.
