Advocates of postponement seem to be
getting more desperate , with the
presidential election just 11 days away.
Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC ) Chairman Prof .
Attahiru Jega is under pressure to shift
the elections from February 14 and 28 .
He remains firm , insisting that the
commission is prepared for the all-
important exercise .
The pro -shift agitators have :
• instituted four suits in the courts,
pleading that INEC should be told to
pull the brakes on the elections;
• said that the insecurity in the
Northeast makes a shift imperative; and
• marched on the INEC headquarters
yesterday to push their case .
Besides , security agencies have asked
INEC to explain four issues which, they
said , will assist them in taking a stand.
National Security Adviser ( NSA) Col .
Sambo Dasuki was hit by a hail of
criticism when he suggested in London
that the elections could be shifted for
would -be voters to get the Permanent
Voter Cards (PVCs) .
To INEC , however , the cards will be no
excuse for shifting the elections.
INEC has so far distributed 44, 741,759
cards.
The figure represents about 65 per cent
of 68, 833, 476 registered voters for the
general election .
Jega is expected to speak tomorrow on
whether or not the polls will go ahead
as scheduled .
INEC arrived at the new figure after an
evaluation session in Abuja, according
to sources.
A top source in INEC said : “ As at
Monday , 44, 741,759 Permanent Voters
Cards have been received by their
owners. We are hopeful that by
February 8 , the figure would have
become higher than this because the
response of eligible voters has been
encouraging.
“ I also want to place on record that all
the PVCs for the 68 ,833, 476 registered
voters have been received by INEC and
distributed to all the 36 states and the
FCT .
“ It is important for the public to know
that 65 per cent of eligible voters for
2015 poll have collected their PVCs.
This implies that we can go ahead with
the election. ”
Responding to a question, the source
added : “There is no cause for alarm at
all because we have extended the
period for the collection of PVCs to
February 8 .
“ If you look at the 2011 poll, during the
presidential election, 40, 728, 990 voted
but only 39,469 , 484 votes were valid
and 1 ,259,506 votes invalid .
“ While in 2007 about 35 ,288, 984 voted
during the presidential election , the
figure for 2003 was 42 , 018, 735,
including 2 ,538, 246 invalid votes.
“ Even in 1999 when the stake was
higher following anxiety over the return
to democracy, the voters ’ turnout was
30 , 282 , 052 . The acclaimed June 12,
1993 presidential election recorded 14 ,
293, 396 votes.”
To the source , who pleaded not to be
named , Nigerians voting history has
shown that less than 50 million usually
votes.
“ All the noise about PVCs is the
handiwork of some elements who are
looking for an excuse to shift the poll at
all cost ,: he stressed, adding:
“ So, we are convinced that we are still
within the projection of the average
voters turnout during our past general
elections. ”
Jega will on Wednesday lay all the
cards on the table before Nigerians on
INEC ’ s preparedness and the sanctity of
the timelines.
“ Our indices are ready, we will present
these for all the stakeholders to assess
us . There are so many vested interests
who do not see anything good in what
INEC has done ,” the source said,
adding:
“ We woke up today to hear rumours of
the resignation of Prof. Jega as INEC
chairman when he was busy holding
series of meetings in the office. ”
Security agencies are likely to meet
with INEC “ before the end of this week .”
They are likely to, according to a
source , discuss:
• likely disenfranchisement of voters ;
• effect of litigations on PVCs on the
outcome of the elections ;
• on relocation of many polling units ;
and
• confusing Business Rule of removing
four million registered voters from
register without informing them .
“ The relocation of polling booths from
private school , churches and mosque is
a welcome development. Has INEC
informed woul -be voters ? Can’t this
development lead to confusion on
voting day?” a source said , adding:
“ The confusing Business Rule has
ensured the removal of at least over 4
million registered voters, who are yet to
be aware of the removal of their names ;
if they may require re-registration or
recapturing as INEC promised the
Sultan of Sokoto over his plight .”
One of the sources in INEC said : “We
are awaiting a session with all
stakeholders to clear the air on many
issues . But we are yet to be invited by
security agencies. ”
As at the time of filing this report, Jega
was in a crucial meeting with top INEC
management staff .
It was not immediately clear what
informed the emergency session.
Contacted , a National Commissioner of
INEC said: “Jega met with all directors
to checklist all preparations for the
elections coming up in the next few
days .
“ It was more of a procedural thing, we
wanted to ensure that all hands are on
deck and things are working as
planned .
“ In fact, I can tell you that three
meetings were held on Monday between
Jega and his team . He held strategic
session with National Commissioners ,
members of the management and those
in technical units and all directors.
“ The meetings had nothing to do with
any resignation or frustration. ”
Chief Press Secretary to the INEC
Chairman said : “The meeting with
directors and management staff was a
routine one.
“ In preparation for the elections, INEC
chairman , National Commissioners and
directors had been working late to make
sure that all plans work accordingly. ”
No comments:
Post a Comment