Date: 2015-01-30

Former president of the Court of Appeal, Justice Mustapha Akanbi, has described the call by the National Security Adviser (NSA) for the postponement of next month’s elections as a way of trying to the country’s democratic progress.

Speaking with Daily Trust in Ilorin yesterday, Akanbi who said the call smacks of “sinister motive” said  the NSA was not in a position to advise INEC to postpone the elections.

He said: “I think it is an ingenuous way of trying to thwart the effort of our society in making progress along democratic lines. The man who made that statement, retired Col Sambo Dasuki, went to London to fly a kite to see what the reaction would be.

“It was borne out of a sinister motive and I said it. Because how can an election be so near, the power to postpone is vested in the chairman of INEC, not even the president. Secondly, he (Dasuki) is not an adviser to the INEC chairman but an adviser to the president. He is paid to advise the president. How does he come in now to tell the INEC chairman what to do?”.

He said notwithstanding the war drums being beaten in some parts of the country, the election should hold as planned, saying postponing it would further heat up the polity.

“If people are violent, they will be more violent. If people are destroying and creating problems, they will continue. So it’s better, let’s go to the election. When we have the election, whatever comes out of it, once it’s fair, free and transparent, people will accept the result. Don’t mind those people who said they would go to war, like Dokubo Asari.

“Those people who want to destroy the nation would have more time to continue destroying. I think it is mischief, and I’m glad that Jega has come out out rightly to say no, it would not be postponed. And the majority of Nigerians have said so. It will not be postponed. Let’s wait”, he added.

Akanbi, the pioneer chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) also faulted the controversy trailing the school certificate of APC presidential candidate, retired General Muhammadu Buhari, saying it is “a non-issue”.