There are plans to disenfranchise S/West —Yoruba groups

A coalition of Yoruba groups, Ominira Yoruba Apapo, Oodua Democratic Coalition and Coalition for Yoruba Autonomy (COYA), on Thursday, accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of plans to disenfranchise the South-West and other southern part of the country, in the forthcoming general election.

The group said this at a press conference, in Lagos, through its representatives, Morgan Omodu, Razaq Oladosu, Kunle Adesokan and Segun Aka- Basorun, declaring that the INEC had long ceased to be an umpire in the elections.

Reading the communiqué on behalf of the coalition, Omodu said the electoral commission was determined to favour the opposition party, whose presidential candidate, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, is from same zone as the INEC chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega.

“The evidence is now overwhelming that INEC is determined to rig the election in favour of opposition party,” he said.

Omodu frowned on the disparity in the distribution of the permanent voter cards (PVCs) especially to the southern part of the country, saying that “what is even more sinister is INEC’s wilful determination to disenfranchise selected geo-political regions, which represent areas of strength for President Goodluck Jonathan.

“We observe a gross disparity of voters spread, designed to tilt the election to a pre-determined outcome. Voters in the zones that tend to support the incumbent are massively disenfranchised by the application of the so-called PVCs debacle, 40 per cent to 50 per cent of voters in this regions, who are lawfully and dully registered to vote will be denied their constitutional right to vote by INEC.

“That is nearly half of the support base of the incumbent, simply nullified by administrative failure of INEC, prior to election,”

Omodu, however, urged the Commission to be unbiased in the discharge of its duty “with emphasis of ensuring that our people in South-West and other southern states are not disenfranchised.”

He urged the INEC to review the use of proposed card reader “because we cannot take a trial and error usage of the said card reader, which has not been tested before by the umpire.”

Also speaking, Aka-Basorun said INEC owed Nigerians a duty not to sack its two officers said to have compromised the credible distribution of PVCs in Lagos State, but should also hand them over to the police for investigation and prosecution in the law court.

According to him, Nigerians needed to know their identity and who they were also working for.

It will be recalled that the electoral body admitted that two of its members of staff had been detected and sacked for denying non-indigenes their PVCs.

Tribune.Com.Ng