The All Progressives Congress, APC, has condemned the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, over the imposition of a 22-hour curfew for the Anambra State governorship poll, saying it is a needless exercise.
The party in a statement issued in Lagos on Wednesday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, argued that during general elections, people are allowed to move around freely from 4p.m. on election day, saying "why such a needless curfew in Anambra case."
The APC said: "Election is not war, but a celebration of democracy. Declaring a 22- hour curfew for an election in only one state raises serious questions: What is INEC hiding? Is the curfew meant to give riggers enough time to write and collate their cooked-up results? Are elections and free movement of people incompatible? Why does INEC need a 22-hour curfew to conduct a 'peaceful and successful' election in one state?"
The party pointed out that "Anambra does not have the kind of terrain or riverine communities that will justify waiting for hours for election results to be taken from polling units to the collation centre, hence there is no reason to turn Anambra into a ghost state just to hold a governorship election."
"We therefore call on INEC to reconsider this overstretched curfew if it has no underlying motive for declaring it in the first instance," it said.
Such condemnation is worth it. It surely is not reasonable.