APC congratulates Yobe Governor, YSIEC over successful conduct of LG polls‏

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Progressive Congress, APC, has hailed the Yobe
State Governor, 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 which held on December
28, 2013.
In a statement issued in Lagos on Thursday by
its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Lai
Mohammed, the party called on the Independent
National Electoral Commission, INEC, to borrow a
leaf from the Yobe State Independent Electoral
Commission, YSIEC, on how to organise elections,
having bungled the two elections conducted by
INEC 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 said it would
not hold 2015 elections in states under
emergency rule, the successful local government
polls have shown that the only impediment to
the conduct of elections in the states was the
federal government that has ulterior motives and
one that is mortally afraid of its own shadows, as
well as a conniving with INEC that is independent
only in name.
The party said it was particularly remarkable
that the people of the state turned out in large
number, 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 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,” the statement said.
The party also said it believes that Mr. Geidam
deserves every possible accolade he can get for
his courage and strong belief in democracy as
well as his determined effort to ensure that a few
renegades do not hijack a whole state.
“We therefore commend this quintessential
democrat and urge him to continue with his
good works in the state,” it said.
APC said it has no doubt that the efforts of Mr.
Geidam will be a source of inspiration to other
states that are under a state of emergency, as
well as to the INEC which it said failed to
successfully organise 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
organise successful polls is that it sabotages its
own elections,” APC said.