2019: Elections ‘must not hold’ in IDP camps

The National Forum of Democrats (NDF), a civil society group, says on no account should elections take place in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps.

At a press conference in Kaduna on Saturday, Gambo Dambata, leader of the group, said some politicians were planning to use IDP camps as “rigging spots”.

Dambata said the architects of this plot plan to generate a security report that would make the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to shelve election in some localities but hold it in IDP camps.

“Borno State as you all know has been at the receiving end of the Boko Haram scourge since the group turned violent in 2009,” he said.

“You may have noticed reports in some quarters about occupation of some territories in Borno State allegedly by Boko Haram.

“This subtle campaign which appears to draw sympathy to the local population in the said territories is nothing but an orchestrated narrative for the manipulation of the forthcoming general election and to hoodwink multilateral agencies and other humanitarian organisations into donating funds.

“The calculation of is to claim that Boko Haram is occupying certain territories in Nigeria and to generate a security report that would make INEC to shelve holding the 2019 poll in this locality and thereafter hold same in IDP camps where they are able to carry out their rigging plans.

“There is a deliberate plot by some selfish politicians to sponsor attacks across the north-east in the name of Boko Haram just to cause panic, apprehension and pandemonium in the state as to give room for them to easily manipulate the results in favour of their preferred candidates.”