INEC, conduct all elections in one day

SIR: The new dates (March 28 and April 11, 2015) announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the elections are to remain inviolable. INEC anchored their reason for the postponement on safety for all and sundry. However, other sources are telling Nigerians that the fundamental reason for the shift in election was INEC’s inability to distribute permanent voters card (PVC) to as high as 38 per cent of voters in Nigeria as at the initial election schedule date of March 14.

  If we evaluate INEC’s excuse on insecurity, what sense does it make to hold the elections on two separate days? Doing so would mean over-labouring the already weak security system. Therefore, it is wise to put all the nation’s security resources towards one-day event. Going by cost, it would be cheaper to hold all the elections in one day. On safety, it would be less stressful to the security personnel if all the elections are done in one day.  All hands should be on deck to have all the elections on April 11.

  Given that INEC has been unable to properly distribute the PVC, then April 11 is ideal to have all the elections in order to give INEC more time to complete their constitutional responsibility of being an unbiased umpire.

• Tosan Okotie,

Texas, USA.