The State chairman of the Civil Society Organizations, a coalition of Civil society organizations in Rivers State Comrade Enefa Georgewill has condemned the manner and unprofessional way which the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) boss, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, postponed the presidential and National Assembly elections.
Comrade Enefa in a press briefing stated that: ” Rivers Civil Society Organization (RIVSCO), received with shock and disappointed the postponement of the Presidential, Senatorial and House of Representative elections which was slated to hold on the 16th of February, 2019 few hours before voting time. We view the reasons given by INEC as baseless and diversionary as reasons are likely to repeat itself.
“It is our opinion that no amount of reason can explain the economic loss, travellers’ risk, perception of INEC Accredited International and Local Observers, marriage and other social activities distortions, etc.
“RIVSCO calls on INEC to explain to Nigerians how they will retrieve sensitive materials already distributed and where they will source funds already expended by INEC and calls the INEC chairman to properly apologize to Nigerians or tender his resignation if he cannot perform his duties.
“RIVSCO and its INEC accredited observers observed thugs in some local government areas in the state openly brandishing machetes, guns and dynamites on the eve of the election just to scare oppositions and electorates. We call on security agencies to fish out these persons and deter them from carrying out these nefarious activities on the next election date.
“Also, Rivers Civil Society Organization as the foremost Civil Society Coalition in the State, calls on groups loyal to political parties to stop hiding under the aegis of CSOs to be issuing out press statements prepared in the office of their preferred political parties against other parties or tiers of government.
“As CSOs, our historic duty is to defend the poor, give undiluted analysis and not to serve as consultants to one political party against the other; Should they fail, we will be left with no choice than to call them out in the public space”.
