Members of the National Assembly on Friday kicked against the call by the National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), that the February 14 general elections should be shifted to give the Independent National Electoral Commission time to distribute over 30 million outstanding permanent voter cards.

The lawmakers said the postponement of the elections would lead the country to constitutional crisis.

The House of Representatives spokesperson, Mr. Zakari Mohammed, said the House would not back any proposal to shift the polls.

He said, "The call for postponement of the elections is a decoy for third term agenda and as a House of the Nigerian people, we will resist it.‎
"There is nowhere in the world where 100 per cent of registered voters must vote in an election.
"It will be a breach of the constitution to postpone the polls by whatever guise. This is a ploy and we know where it is coming from."

Deputy House Majority Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor, also said postponing the elections would not serve the interest of the country.

Ogor said if insufficient PVCs was the major reason Dasuki cited for the call for the postponement of the elections, INEC should admit those with temporary voter cards to vote in line with a resolution recently passed by the House.

He said, "INEC should speak up and tell us the way forward instead of keeping Nigerians in suspense.
"Let voters use TVCs and PVCs in line with the position already taken by the House. No eligible voter should be disenfranchised."

The House Minority Leader, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, also described the call for postponement of the polls as a trap for third term agenda.

Gbajabiamila had moved the motion asking INEC to allow the use of TVCs since it was apparent that many voters might not get the PVCs before February 14.

He said shifting the polls was a ploy for third term agenda which he warned would be resisted by Nigerians.
"The NSA has no role to play in the distribution of PVCs," Gbajabiamila said.

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