Why PDP May Not Participate In Edo, Ondo Elections – Secondus

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus, has said his party may not participate in the Edo and Ondo states governorship election scheduled for 2020.

He made this known while addressing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) delegation who came to carry out a routine verification exercise at the party’s national headquarters in Abuja.

Speaking to some officials of INEC, Secondus expressed disappointment with the just concluded governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa States.

According to him, challenges in conducting elections in Nigeria can only be addressed through an electoral amendment by the National Assembly.

Secondus alleged that the INEC integrity was at stake given the trajectory of elections it has conducted so far in the country.

He said: “INEC as presently constituted has integrity questions. Some of the staff have compromised their offices.

“We advise that INEC should go back to the drawing board and consider the past elections it has conducted.

“Even INEC needs reform. We can’t continue this way. Is either we practice the American model or adopt the Egyptian model where soldiers shall be part and parcel of the election process.”

Secondus also claimed that the 2019 general election set Nigeria backwards, adding that thuggery, killing, the militarisation of voting scenes and disruptions of voting process dominated the election.