The All Progressives Congress (APC) has issued a statement expressing its respect for the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to postpone the governorship and state house of assembly elections. The national exercise was previously scheduled for Saturday 11th March but has been moved to Saturday 18th March 2023.
The shift was necessitated by the ruling of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, which affected the reconfiguration of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) used for the presidential election. While it may have caused some inconvenience to stakeholders and the general public, the APC appreciates INEC’s efforts to ensure a free and fair election by taking this step.
The APC noted that INEC has assured the public that data from the previous presidential and national assembly elections would be backed up properly on its cloud facilities. In this regard, the party urges the commission to preserve and protect the integrity of the extracted data from BVAS. It is essential to ensure that the information is adequately secured and made available for future audits or analyses.
The ruling party believes that INEC can use the opportunity presented by the postponement to address any gaps or hitches identified during the last poll. The party hopes that such an exercise will help to build public confidence in the electoral process and improve the credibility of the outcome.
The APC is, however, unwavering in its belief that President-elect, Bola Tinubu, emerged as the “overwhelming choice of Nigerians in the presidential election which was free and fair” in accordance with the Electoral Act. The party encouraged its supporters and other Nigerians to double down on their support for the great party and its candidates next Saturday.
