Borno State of Nigeria appears heading to be the test case for the possibility of the February 23rd, 2019 presidential/National Assembly being free and fair. This follows the emergence of an SOS to the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), The Presidency, security agencies, political parties, Election monitors, the civil society in Nigerian and international media as well as international observers to, in the words of the complainants, “to save Democracy in Borno State”.
Engineer Muhammad Abba Gana
Kashim Imam, APC governor of Borno State
The storyline is that, contrary to President Buhari assurance to all Nigerian citizens that they are free to vote for the candidates of their choice, the Borno State Government has directed traditional rulers at all levels to tell their people to vote for only APC candidates to ensure landslide victories for all their (APC) candidates. The consequence for failure to do so is loss of their appointments.
Alhaji Abba Gana, elder statesman and member of the Board of Trustees, (BOT) of the People’s Democratic Party, (PDP) who issued the statement in Abuja added how there are also plans by the Borno State Government to use the civilian Joint Task Force, (JTF) tomorrow and on March 9th, 2019 to enforce the agenda. “At least in Damboa Local Government Area, the civilian JTF have been directed to deal with anybody who votes for PDP”, it has been further claimed.
Still wondering how this sort of thing could happen today in Nigeria just before the presidential and NASS election tomorrow, Alhaji Abba Gana pointed out the impossibility of free and fair elections “with desperation, gerrymandering, use of Government Authority and resources and finally use of militia and security agencies by the Borno state Government?
