INEC Explains Polls Shift

• There Are Unresolved Issues — Jega

• Cites Insecurity In Northeast

• Sets March 28, April 11 As New Dates

• PDP Welcomes Move

• It’s Highly Provocative, Says APC

CHAIRMAN of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Attahiru Jega, has noted that unfavourable security reports in the country informed the commission’s decision to shift the date for the 2015 general elections.

 INEC yesterday announced March 28 as new date for the Presidential and National Assembly elections, while the governorship and State Assembly polls will now hold on April 11, 2015.

   Jega said: “For matters under the control of INEC, we are ready and prepared for the election, but it does not take the commission’s readiness alone to conduct the election. We have to take into consideration the advice of the security agencies, which have officially told us that they cannot guarantee the security of people and materials if the election is held now. They insisted that the military is currently more occupied with fighting insurgency and may not provide security during the election.

   “In view of all this, the commission, after due and wide consultations, have decided to adjust the dates for the elections thus: the presidential and National Assembly elections would be held on March 28, 2015, while the governorship and State Assembly elections will take place on April 11 2015.” 

  He stressed that the shift in the date is in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act, even as “the conduct of election in a country like Nigeria is a collective venture. There are so many other things that are critical for successful conduct of the election,” the INEC chairman said.

   In a swift reaction, the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation (PDPPCO) said it concurred with yesterday’s decision by INEC to shift the scheduled February general elections since “it is in the best interest of deepening democracy and in the national interest.’

  But the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, described the postponement as ‘highly provocative” and inimical to the course of democracy.  

   Director of Media and Publicity of the PDPPCO, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, stated that INEC ‘’must be commended for showing the courage to shift the elections after acknowledging the fact that its state of preparedness was not 100 per cent.’’ 

According to Fani-Kayode, “Since this decision has been taken in the interest of deepening democracy and in national interest, we accept it in good faith and we commend INEC’s courage and obvious commitment to ensuring a free and fair election. 

“With this decision, INEC has allayed the fears of many of our citizens that they may not have had the opportunity to vote for the candidates and parties of their choice on Election Day. 

“INEC has, by the decision, ensured that no one will be disenfranchised and has helped to guarantee the safety and security of every single one of our citizens during the course of the elections. 

  “We are constrained to take this opportunity to wholeheartedly condemn the opposition APC for its paranoid delusions and its far-fetched and childish conspiracy theories when it comes to the issue of poll shift.  

“By insisting that the elections should be conducted on February 14, the opposition was not only dangerously flirting with chaos but was also putting our country firmly on the path of confrontation, division, injustice, disaster and destruction. 

“This is especially so, given the fact that no less than 34 per cent of eligible voters have not been able to access their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) up till today — just seven days before the original date of the election.  A situation where such a large percentage of our people would have been disenfranchised is unacceptable and the fact that the APC was insensitive to that fact speaks volumes.

  “We are aware that INEC is having numerous logistical problems and numerous internal challenges and we believe that the poll shift will afford them the badly-needed time to tackle and resolve those problems and challenges before we arrive at the new dates that have been fixed for the elections.

   “We believe that INEC must have drawn a useful guide from available security reports from the North-eastern zone where, despite the very serious challenges that our people are facing there from Boko Haram, we believe that elections must hold. We must insist on this in order to ensure that no parts of the country lose their right to freely, safely and peacefully participate in the coming elections and to vote for the candidates of their choice.  

    “It is against the backdrop of these developments that we commend INEC for finding the courage to do the right thing. In the same breath, we condemn the opposition APC leaders and members who are set to unleash confusion, mendacity and despondency everywhere and who are blaming everyone, except themselves, for the situation in which we have found ourselves. 

     “It is a glaring testimony to their irresponsible and reckless disposition that they continue to insist on having an election on a date that the institution that is constitutionally charged to conduct that election has said would be impossible to go ahead under the present circumstances.

  But Odigie-Oyegun, in a terse statement yesterday, said the APC “has just heard over the news media that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has decided to postpone the elections by six weeks on the strength of a letter by the security chiefs that they cannot provide security for the elections nationwide because of the commitment of its resources to fight insurgency in the north eastern part of the country.  

  “This is clearly a major setback for Nigerian democracy, and our Party is meeting in emergency session to study its implications and will inform Nigerians of its decisions in the next few days.

   “In the meantime, though what has happened is highly provocative, I strongly appeal to all Nigerians to remain calm and desist from violence and any activity which will compound this unfortunate development. We must not fall into this obvious trap. Change we must. They can only delay it; No one can stop it.

   “I want to assure all Nigerians that the All Progressives Congress will not abandon its commitment to change and will sustain the struggle to establish a new Nigeria.” 

     Prof. Jega, in defence of INEC’s latest decision, said: “In the conduct of elections in a country like Nigeria, it is a collective venture that involves not just election management body, but also a diverse range of stakeholders, notably political parties, their candidates, voters, security agencies and civil society organisations. 

   “To guarantee successful conduct of elections, there are things that are the responsibility of the election management body, but there are other things critical to the success of elections, which are outside the control of the election management body. In other words, while INEC must work hard to perfect the system and processes for conducting elections and taking responsibilities for any imperfections thereof. Whatever the INEC does may not by itself be sufficient to guarantee the success of an election. 

    “There are a number of issues in the preparation and conduct of an election, the most critical of which is security, which is not under the control of INEC.”

Current State of INECs Preparedness

   “On February 5, 2015, I was asked to brief the Council of State, which is the highest advisory body to the President, comprising the past and present leaders in Nigeria, on the level of preparedness of INEC to conduct the February 2015 elections.  I made a presentation to the Council of State, titled ‘Preparation of INEC for the 2015 elections: Progress Report,’ in which I gave a detailed account of what the commission has been doing in readiness for the national elections — National Assembly and presidential — scheduled for the February 14, and state elections — governorship and state elections, scheduled for February 28,2015. 

  “The summary of my presentation to the National Council of State meeting is that, for matters under the control of INEC, the commission is substantially ready for the general elections as scheduled, despite the sizeable challenges being encountered with some of its processes like the collection of Permanent Voter Card (PVC) by registered voters.

    In addition, INEC has been doing everything it can to facilitate the collection of PVCs by registered members of the public. As at February 5, 2015, the total number of PVCs collected was 45,829,808, representing 66.58 percent of the total number of registered voters.

    “On the delivery of election matters, INEC is also at a comfort level in the conduct of the elections as scheduled. The commission’s preparations are not yet perfect or fully accomplished, but our level of preparedness, despite a few challenges, is sufficient to conduct free, fair and credible elections as scheduled on February 14 and 28.