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Former Minister of Communications and General Officer Commanding (GOC), Major General Tajudeen Olanrewaju (rtd), on Friday, said any attempt to postpone the exercise would cause voters’ apathy, contending that the election must hold as scheduled.
He also canvassed support for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the deployment of the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) and other technologies to ensure the delivery of credible and transparent election capable of meeting global standards.
In a press statement forwarded to Saturday Tribune, Olanrewaju averred that “despite whatever effort by some anti-democratic forces within or without, the elections must hold as scheduled.”
According to him, “postponing the February election will lead to a low turnout of voters, and genuine winners will not emerge. Surely, voting enthusiasm will drop, which will not be ideal for our democracy.”
On insinuation of the possibility of an interim national government as a fallout of an inconclusive poll, Olanrewaju posited that there must be no room for it, adding that “my experience, in the consolidation of Interim National Government (ING) led by Chief Ernest Shonekan in 1993, puts me in better stead to speak against it at this time.”
The former Corps Commander Artillery Nigerian Army, who lauded President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to a successful transition of power, maintained that “the best legacy the president will be remembered for leaving behind for coming generations of Nigerian leadership is to ensure the seamless and peaceful civillian-to-civillian transition of power through the instrumentality of democracy.”
While reviewing the situation of impunity in public and private places, culminating in the agonising new naira notes and fuel scarcity across the country, Olanrewaju charged Nigerians that those challenges are not enough excuses to disrupt the election process embarked upon by the Federal Government.
He stated: “Mr. President can handle the situation, and he has my support for doing exactly that because nobody stands in the way the government has taken for the good of the people, except that such person is incurring the wrath of the law requiring that government takes action against him and the nation moves on.
“In other climes, these bankers who inflict pains on citizens would have been in the gulag. They are simply wicked. Yes, the new notes are limited in supply to the public but can be shared pro rata on the bank counters for low-income customers to meet minimum demands.
“This is a good monetary policy, but ‘shylock’ handled for personal gains along the distribution chain to the consumers. Nigerians like inflicting pain and injuries on fellow citizens. This is not a matter of leadership at the top, but it cuts across down to the followership, “Olanrewaju remarked.
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