With barely three months to the general elections in 2023, the umbrella body of the opposition political parties in Nigeria, the Coalition of United Political Parties, CUPP, has raised alarm over an alleged plot by the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to steal the mandate of the people by rigging the elections.
In a statement signed by its National Secretary, Peter Ameh, the position of APC leadership suggesting that the country is not ready to deploy technology in the forthcoming elections is unreasonable and clearly betrays the party’s hidden agenda to rig the polls.
“The attention of the CUPP has been drawn to statements credited to the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Abdullahi Adamu and the party’s Organizing Secretary, Suleiman Argungun which are to the effect that the nation is not ripe and ready for the deployment of technology in the conduct of the 2023 general elections”.
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Both Abdullahi and Argungun were last week credited with statements against the insistence of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to deploy the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System, BVAS, and the Independent Result Viewing Portal, IREV, in the conduct of the elections; expressing strong reservations that Nigeria lacks the technical capacity as well as telecommunication density to achieve it.
The CUPP frowns at the position of APC, describing it as “uncharitable” and an attempt to stop and frustrate the electoral system and the reforms so far achieved to make the processes a lot more credible and reflect the true wishes of the people having sensed what it calls the “inevitable rejection by Nigerians in the impending elections”.
“We wish to further add that the decision of INEC has since been received by the Nigerian people with enormous optimism, and enthusiasm and has rekindled their hope of a free, credible and transparent election and any attempt to go back on its words will only further breed distrust and dampen the spirit of the people”.
The CUPP called on INEC to remain steadfast with its plans to deploy its technology to cleanse the electoral system.
Editor: Nkoli Omhoudu
