Political parties: INEC, others must not yield to partisan pressure -PDP

From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

The Tanimu Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has cautioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other national institutions against yielding to partisan pressure in dealing with issues relating to political parties.

The PDP bloc, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, yesterday, said INEC and other state institutions must place the interest of the country and the democracy above all other considerations.

The opposition party, which accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of wanting to win in the 2027 polls by all means, said the ruling party had allegedly resorted to all kinds of tactics.

It said: “With recent political events which are clear orchestrations and manipulation against the opposition political parties, the political temperature of the country has been unnecessarily raised to near-fever levels. Society, like the human body, either breaks down or adjusts when subjected to fever.

“It is now common knowledge that the ruling All Progressives Congress intends to win the next presidential elections at all cost, by hook or crook. This desire has, for them, become an inevitable certainty that must be achieved, irrespective of the obvious impracticability staring them in the face. To achieve this, no boundary is respected and nothing is too much to sacrifice, including derailing democracy, truncating the republic and destroying Nigeria.

“National institutions have now become the executioners of this ill-conceived plan. No institution is too sacred or too fragile to be deployed in this mission, ranging from the  judiciary to INEC and the clergy, among others. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has further heightened the already tense political atmosphere through its latest press statement on the derecognition of the David Mark-led NWC of the African Democratic Congress, based on its interpretation of the judgment of the Court of Appeal and other pending cases before various courts.”

The opposition party added that “while we concede that, semantically, the same words and sentences can convey different meanings, it is troubling that INEC’s default interpretation of matters concerning political parties consistently appears to favour the much-perceived and prevailing notion of an uncontested election-effectively handing a colourful coronation to its appointor and the incumbent president. In such circumstances, ulterior motives cannot be discounted.

“The public has also observed a series of political party monitoring activities recently published by the Commission. While these activities fall within its statutory powers, the timing raises legitimate concerns. These activities are rumoured to result in the de-registration of opposition political parties, a development that would further injure our democracy.

“We hereby passionately appeal to all national institutions, especially INEC, not to yield to partisan pressures or the influence of appointing authorities. They must place the interests of democracy and the country above all else. They should draw lessons from history and the conduct of their counterparts in past democratic republics, where many years after, people were still battling to clear their names of acts done against the Nigerian people.

“This is a critical moment in our democratic journey, where the fragility and vulnerability of the polity are being tested to their limits. No individual or institution should stretch the patience of Nigerians beyond its present bounds. We must adopt a ‘country-first’ disposition that transcends partisan cleavages.”