Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Former Senate President, Senator Adolphus Wabara, has called for the cancellation of last Saturday’s presidential and national assembly elections, alleging unprecedented rigging.
Wabara who dismissed the exercise as a sham expressed disappointment over the failure of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to upload the results directly from the polling units contrary to its earlier promises.
Addressing newsmen Thursday in Umuahia, Abia State, Wabara demanded an investigation of INEC over its role in the obvious sabotage of the elections.
He wondered why INEC could not deliver a credible poll after raising the hope of Nigerians.
Wabara who is also the Chairman, Board of Trustees, BoT, of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, said the controversies surrounding the elections had brought low the reputation of Nigeria before the international community.
Wabara said that democracy had been murdered in Nigeria, adding that it will take a miracle to restore the confidence of the Nigeria youths in the electoral process.
“It’s a sham! You can see from the international observers how they condemned what we called election in the 21st century.
“So, that thing has to be canceled in the interest of Nigeria and the unity of the country.
“There is no hope again for the country. We have killed democracy in Nigeria!
“It was like in those days when people won election at all cost and ask their opponents to go to court. But I thought we had passed that stage, and are now responsible.”
According to Wabara, the ruling APC does not deserve to continue in office if not by doctoring the outcome of the polls.
“The indices were there before the election even to the blind that Nigerians really wanted a genuine change.
“If the PDP or even the Labour Party had won, I’m not sure we would have this coldness that has enveloped the country. By now there would have been celebration all over the country.
“Nobody should make any pretense about it, Nigeria has not fared any better under the APC. Rather what we saw was retrogression, frustration, killings, hunger and everything negative.”
Wabara noted that no pre-election opinion poll results favoured the APC, insisting that the result of the presidential election was doctored to favour the ruling party.
“Even the blind opinion poll didn’t have APC coming to take over. If this is allowed, Nigeria will not have a place in the international community. There won’t be any respect whatsoever for us again.”
On whether those who lost should seek redress in the court, Wabara said he no longer had faith in the Nigeria judiciary considering its controversial judgments in the recent times.
“Our democracy has died because I don’t have any hope in the judiciary. They are the same thing unless we have a bold judge who is prepared to lose his job the next day, but we don’t have them many.”
Wabara said he would convene emergency meeting of the the BoT members immediately after the March 11 governorship and House of Assembly polls to review the elections.
He explained that the reason for delaying the meeting until after the next election was to avoid distracting the members and other stakeholders from concentrating on the upcoming elections.
Wabara appealed for calm among PDP members as well as the Nigeria youths as efforts were made to correct the anomaly.
He cautioned politicians against impunity and taking the rest of the country for granted, saying that nobody should be allowed to set the country ablaze.
