By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has described Saturday’s governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states as the worst in the nation’s political history.
The PDP categorically said that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has derailed in the responsibility assigned to it.
The acting National Chairman of the PDP, Ambassador Umar Ilya Damagum said these on Tuesday while addressing journalists shortly after the meeting of the National Working Committee, NWC, of the Party in Abuja.
Damagum equally revealed that the deputy National Secretary of the PDP, Hon. Sekonji Koshedo has been mandated to continue acting as the National Secretary of the party in view of the conflicting courts orders trailing the office.
According to the PDP acting National Chairman, “We want to state in clear terms that the elections held on Saturdays has further confirmed the fears that has been laid on the umpire.
“We have seen all sorts of violence, intimidation and high handedness.
“This has further confirmed that the electoral body has completely derailed from the road it was supposed to take. “People have lost confidence; voters were completely disenfranchised due to the complicity of some of the agencies that were to help to have a very fair election but they completely compromised.
“This election is worst than even the one we had earlier.
“I want to use this medium to tell Nigerians that this is not what we bargained for and also express our fear that if we go on in this kind of manner, I am afraid that come other elections that will be off season, which is coming up very soon, may be there will be no election in this country. It will be a written result.
“I ask all Nigerians to pray for this country because I don’t know if this is a cause that has happened to us in this country or if this is our way.
“We should pray that if this is what we are, then God should intervene.
“However, those that have been be cheated in this elections should purse their grievance through the lawful means even though we have doubts that even the lawful means is also a sad story.
“In a country where justice is not dispensed, then anarchy is imminent”, he said
On the issue of controversy surrounding the office of the National Secretary, Damagum said, ‘Since there are conflicting court orders, we urged the two sides to stand down and we have agreed and appointed the Deputy National Secretary to continue to act as Secretary pending the time we will resolve all the issues; the conflicting court orders and resolutions of the south east.
“So there is no conflict and we are together and thinking together on this issue”, he said.
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