- Title: NIGERIA-ELECTION/RALLY Abuja protesters demand delayed elections be run
- Date: 14th February 2015
- Summary: MAN ADDRESSING PROTESTERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) EMMAN SHEHU, MEMBER, NATIONAL CONSENSUS MOVEMENT, SAYING: "We, this coalition of society groups, therefore make the following demands: One, that the National Security Adviser to the President, Colonel Sambo Dasuki, be relieved of his position with immediate effect. Two, that the Chiefs of Defence Staff, Army Staff, Air Staff
- Embargoed: 1st March 2015 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Nigeria
- Country: Nigeria
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA146T7ELNVL33NWY3QJVUGI2DU
- Story Text: A pro-democracy group under the umbrella of 'Nigerians United for Democracy' on Saturday (February 14) organised a rally urging Nigerians to support democracy and demand the running of national elections.
President Goodluck Jonathan is seeking re-election in a contest with main opposition candidate Muhammadu Buhari, himself a former military ruler.
Elections in Africa's biggest economy were set to be the closest fought since the end of military dictatorship in 1999.
Nigeria's agreement to delay this week's election on the advice of security forces creates a worrying echo for some of the annulment of 1993's democratic vote by a military government.
The election postponement has not gone down well with one protester, Amina Yesufu.
"We have to come out, we have to do the right thing. Nobody is going to do it for us. The same service chiefs, they came out and told us that they were ready, just a few days later, we were told that no, they are not ready, that they need exactly 6 weeks to fight insurgency. I woke up today trying, expecting to hear that offensive and instead what did I get? Boko Haram attacking towns in Gombe. Is that fair?" Yesufu asked.
Accusations of interference have been dismissed as absurd by the team around President Goodluck Jonathan, who point out that the advice was simply to shift the date to March 28 owing to a worsening Boko Haram Islamist insurgency in the northeast.
However Jonathan's ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) had previously heaped pressure on the electoral commission INEC to delay the poll, arguing it was not ready because millions of voters had yet to collect their voter cards.
INEC insisted the vote would happen on time, until the security forces stepped in.
Emman Shehu, a member of the National Consensus Movement demanded a stop to further interference.
"We, this coalition of society groups, therefore make the following demands: One, that the National Security Adviser to the President, Colonel Sambo Dasuki be relieved of his position with immediate effect. Two, that the Chiefs of Defence Staff, Army Staff, Air Staff and Naval Staff be relieved of their positions with immediate effect. Three, that there should never be a further postponement of the elections. Four, that the leadership of INEC as presently constituted under the Chairmanship of Professor Attahiru Jega should be maintained, given all due support and allowed to carry out its functions without any further interference," said Shehu.
Ibrahim Jibrin, from the Centre for Democracy and Development, demanded support for democracy.
"We the citizens of Nigeria, we are committed to democracy. Nobody can truncate our democracy. We will not accept any further postponement of the elections. We will not accept any political arrangement that is not known to our constitution and security agencies must play their role of protecting all citizens and protecting elections rather than harassing opposition parties. We must have a level playing ground for democracy," says Jibrin.
The military has faced criticism of its failure to quell the Boko Haram insurgency, although Jonathan suggested on Wednesday (February 11) during a televised presidential media chat that better cooperation from neighbours Chad, Niger and Cameroon could be a turning point. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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