Jega assures on elections
The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega yesterday said machineries had been put in place to ensure that the forthcoming general election would be more credible than that of 2011.
Delivering a lecture entitled; “INEC and the 2015 elections: Expectations, Prospects and Challenges” at the Bayero University Kano (BUK), he said they would not succumb to pressure by politicians who he said are all out to win by all means.
“Since 2011 INEC has been doing its best to improve the integrity of the conduct of elections in the country, our politicians, I mean some because some have integrity but the general tendency is worrisome and disturbing. You get into an election you must win either by hook or by crook.
“Unless this disposition changes, obviously the challenges of conducting free, fair and credible elections would continue to be with us. But God willing, there would be remarkable improvement to the integrity of the elections from our conduct as elections management body,” he said.
According to him, the forthcoming elections would see Nigeria take its rightful place in the global comity of nations where electoral democracy is being consolidated.
“Nigeria is a country in transition democracy, Nigeria is not democratic, we are democratising. We are still struggling and trying to nurture a political culture after many years of military rules. Our electoral system is a work in progress,” he said.
While stressing the importance of voters register in the conduct of free, fair and transparent elections, he recalled that the voters’ registered used for the 2007 elections contained names of trees, Queen Elizabeth II, Michael Tyson, Mohammad Ali and all sorts of fake names.
He said they had succeeded tremendously in cleaning up the country’s voters register, disclosing that the commission has distributed about 75 percent of the permanent voters’ cards and that the distribution of the remaining 25 percent would be completed before the end of this month.