The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has risen as the only alternative voice to the reactions on the postponement of the 2019 general elections this Saturday by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The CUPP supported the shift of the elections dates, alerting Nigerians that the decision to postpone the elections came out of the plot by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-controlled federal government and security agencies which deliberately sabotaged INEC in order to rig elections through staggered elections by not conducting elections in some states. The Coalition maintained that the intervention of the United States of America (US) which cautioned the INEC not to rig the elections for Buhari saved the day.
The CUPP stated that Nigerians and the international community should blame the Buhari administration, the APC government and security operatives for the postponement not INEC
The CUPP alleged that Buhari and security forces sabotaged distribution and safety of election materials for the elections; saying: “Buhari has proven to be desperate and heartless, the judgement day with the people have just been shifted.”
The CUPP highlighted that that INEC Chairman has shown courage by shifting the elections to avert national bloodshed and dirty polls; noting that “APC wanted to proceed with elections after compromising distribution and destroying of materials in over 15 states.”
The CUPP admonished that staggered elections would have led to Electoral Civil war.
The CUPP, therefore, expressed a strong belief that the desperation of President Muhammadu Buhari and his men to win the presidential election by all means caused the last minute postponement of the elections.
“In their bid to once again foist an unpopular government on Nigerians, they threw caution to the winds and started setting electoral materials on fire in states that are well known to be strongholds of the opposition.
“These acts of sabotage, no doubt, ruined the preparations of the Independent National Electoral Commission for the elections.
“We have raised the alarm many times that agents of the government were working hard to ensure that elections are not held or are declared inconclusive in areas they know that the All Progressives Congress will never win. We have been vindicated.
“We blame the international embarrassment this last minute postponement has caused the nation on the President, the desperate leaders of his party, APC, and the nation’s security agencies who failed woefully in their duties to protect electoral materials and INEC offices from attacks by these enemies of the nation.
“We call on the security forces to sit up and ensure that these enemies of democracy are not allowed to have their ways again.
“We make bold to say that with the postponement, President Buhari’s judgement day with the people has just been shifted.
“INEC chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, has shown courage by shifting the elections to avert national bloodshed because we are aware that APC wanted to proceed with the elections after compromising distribution and destroying materials in over 15 states, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, CUPP Spokesperson, had declared.