The African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential campaign council on Wednesday warned President Bola Tinubu against using the Ebola virus outbreak as a pretext to postpone the January 16 presidential election.
Phrank Shaibu, director of strategic communication for the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, said the party had received information that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman was to be summoned to the Presidential Villa and instructed to shift the poll.
“We are raising the alarm before that meeting takes place. President Tinubu must abandon any such attempt. Professor Joash Amupitan must refuse any instruction to change the timetable and immediately make any such approach public. The election date belongs to Nigerians. It must not be rewritten behind closed doors at the Villa,” Shaibu said in a statement.
He added that Nigerians had endured more than three years of soaring prices, shrinking incomes and hardship, and must be allowed to judge the government at the ballot box.
“Ebola is a serious public health concern. Health professionals must be free to contain it, and INEC must take every necessary step to protect voters and election workers. The NCDC Director General has said there is currently no reason to postpone the election. That position must not be twisted into a political excuse for delay,” the statement said.
The council put INEC, domestic observers and international election monitors on notice that any proposal to change the timetable must be made openly, backed by published health evidence and subjected to public scrutiny.
“The Presidency must not use a health emergency to escape an electoral verdict,” it added.
