By Olusegun Lawrence The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room (Situation Room) has warned of massive unrest, violence and armed conflict should the rescheduled general elections be shifted again.
Earlier billed for February 14 and 28, the general elections will now hold on March 28 and April 11, 2015.
Addressing a press conference on behalf of the Civil Societies, Clement Nwankwo, said they are concerned that Nigeria and its elective governance is imperiled.
It noted that the country is faced with grave existential threats with consequences that threaten the West African sub region as well as peace and security of Africa.
According to the Situation Room, since the announcement of “this dubious pronouncement”, Nigeria has effectively been in a state of suspended animation. In the last few days alone, we have seen the effect of postponed elections on our economy, our politics, our society and our collective state of emotional and psychological well-being.
“Of all the threats, the most critical at this moment is the crisis of legitimacy. Section 132 (2) and 178(2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) clearly states that an election shall be held “not later than thirty days before the expiration of the term of office of the last holder of the office.”
“As such, elections cannot happen later than April 29th 2015. Therefore, the elections dates of March 28th & April 11th 2015 CAN NOT be moved. The current government has spent its electoral legitimacy and must renew its mandate with the people to ensure it can make appropriate plans to handle the security and fiscal crisis we have on our hands.
“It is our last bulwark of defense of elective governance and democracy. We believe that the postponement of this election for whatever reason will undermine whatever modicum of legitimacy the electoral process still has and may ultimately be the trigger for massive unrest, violence and armed conflict, effectively setting the stage for civil unrest,”it warned.
While reiterating its commitment to Nigeria’s democratic process, the Situation Room, insisted “the elections of March 28th and April 11th 2015 must hold.”
It also demands as follows:
Situation Room calls on the National Assembly, as the hub of democracy, to join in protecting our hard won democracy to ensure elections hold on March 28th & April 11th 2015 announced.
We call on all Judges to respect the Constitution and the wishes of the Nigerian people by maintaining their independence and integrity.
We call on the security agencies that are mandated to be non-partisan to respect the rights of ALL Nigerians, the decisions of INEC and ensure a fair playing field for all political players.
We call on all political parties to communicate clearly with their party faithful and supporters that Nigeria cannot afford to postpone the elections in our collective interest and they should maintain peace and order.
We call on the media to report without fear or favour and ensure their channels are not used to foster hate speech and create fear and distrust within the populace.
We call on religious institutions to encourage their members to peacefully participate in the electoral process and also lend their voices to the demand that elections must hold on the announced dates.
We call on Nigerian citizens who have shown great restraint with the postponement to resist any attempts to foster violence and use all legal means through pressure on political parties and their elected members of the National Assembly to unanimously demand that elections must NOT be moved.
For the avoidance of doubt, we reiterate the fact that the President of Nigeria has no constitutional power or authority to remove the Chairman of INEC.
We call on the international community to continue their support of Nigeria’s democratic journey and use all diplomatic channels to impress on relevant stakeholders the importance of holding elections on the announced dates.
