N/Assembly to probe INEC over elections shift

The chairman, Senate Committee on Works, Senator Kabiru Gaya (APC, Kano), has said that the National Assembly will investigate the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the postponement of the 2019 general elections.

INEC had in the early hours of February 16, postponed the elections by a week, citing logistics challenges.

Gaya told State House correspondents at the weekend that the postponement of the elections was responsible for the low voter turnout recorded across the country during the just concluded presidential and National Assembly elections.

“We will call them, and we will investigate the INEC for shifting the election because it caused a poor turnout.

“We will find out the reason - if it is funding, we gave them enough funding, if it was issue of security, the security agencies were ready. So, why should INEC shift the elections? We are going to investigate that when we come back after the governorship election. But sadly, generally, they did what they could do, I could say, it’s a pass mark,” he said.

Gaya, a fourth-term senator at the upper chamber, said only between 30 and 40 percent of voters turned out during the just concluded elections.

“I could say that I am happy President Muhammadu Buhari is back and the election was peaceful and Kano State has delivered, even though the turnout was very poor. INEC shifted the elections and people thought that the election would be shifted again and they couldn’t come out to vote.

“We had just about 30-40 percent turnout all over the country. But be that, Kano has delivered, we had the highest number of votes and I think we could say that we are part of the determining factor for President Buhari’s re-election because he has really done so much for us,” he said.