21-day notice: Observers raise alarm over secret plans by APC cabal to force backdated letter on INEC

The Coalition of Independent Observers says it has uncovered a plan by some members of the All Progressives Congress to impose a backdated letter on the Independent National Electoral Commission.

According to the group, the letter purportedly written by the National Secretray to INEC, will be doctored in such a way that it will meet up with the provisions for the 21-day notice of intent to hold a national convention.

The observers, which made its stance known at a press conference in Abuja, also said the ultimate is to undermine the nation’s democracy.

In his address, Abdullahi Bilal, the group’s
Executive Director said INEC would be coerced into recognizing the said letter and would ultimately reverse its earlier stance that it had not been properly issued the statutory 21-day notice of intent to hold a national convention

Bilal, in clear terms, said Governor Nasir El-Rufai is behind this fresh plot to destabilize the party and force Governor Mai Bala Buni out of office.

“Gentlemen of the press, because there has been no consequences for the criminal acts that these members of the cabal have been engaged in, they have moved to implementing an even more dangerous phase of the their evil plot. They have concluded plans to backdate a letter purportedly written by the National Secretray to INEC sometimes ago in order to meet up with the provisions for the 21-day notice of intent to hold a national convention,” he said.

“INEC would then be coerced to into recognizing the forged letter and on the strength of that reverse its earlier stance that it has not been properly issued the statutory 21-day notice of intent to hold a national convention. Certain staff of the Commission have been promised juicy postings for them to accept responsibility for not properly filing the letter when it purportedly arrived on time. It is on the strength of this ploy that the El-Rufai faction of the party is pushing ahead with the convention even though it has not met the conditions necessary to do so.

“In clear terms, a faction of the APC led by Nasir El-Rufai is about to commit forgery in addition to the serial violation of the Electoral Act that it has already committed.

“We are aware that they have also commissioned a media team to launch a campaign of calumny against INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, as part of a plot to remove him from the position for daring to assert INEC’s independence with the manner he rejected the change in CECPC leadership.

“With the spillover to attempting to manipulate INEC, Nigerians must now wake up and realize that the rampaging cabal is no longer the problem of APC alone. It will undermine the 2023 General Elections unless it is quickly brought under control. We are in critical times”.

The observers, therefore, urged Nigerians to “unite in resisting any attempt to make INEC act on a forged letter”.

Bilal further said “ we must also send a strong message that the INEC Chairman and Commissioners must not be victimized for doing the job they were appointed to do”.