Post by okkybusty on Feb 12, 2014 9:13:29 GMT 1
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, has again defended the February dates for the 2015 elections.
He said the dates would enable politicians with litigations to have enough time to attend to them.
This, the INEC chairman said, is inevitable in Nigeria, where litigations need to be addressed before the handing over date and not to favour a group over the other.
Prof Jega warned on the need for political parties to stick to timelines for campaigns.
The INEC chairman debunked the reports that the commission provided two different voters’ lists for last November’s election in Anambra State.
He said the voters’ lists for Ekiti State would be provided today as a prelude to the beginning of the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR).
Jega spoke at the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC)/INEC Forum on: Broadcast Media Coverage of Election: A Preamble to 2015.
He said: “Let me use the opportunity of this forum to restate that INEC’s choice of those dates was informed by purely rational and logical considerations. We have scheduled the elections for February 2015 to allow ample time for litigation, which are inevitable in our Nigerian context, before the commencement of new tenures of May 29, 2015.
“The allegation that INEC changed the sequence of elections in 2015, when compared with 2011, is simply not true. In 2011, we had the National Assembly election first; then, the presidential election and lastly, the state elections into governorship and State Assembly seats.”
He said the dates would enable politicians with litigations to have enough time to attend to them.
This, the INEC chairman said, is inevitable in Nigeria, where litigations need to be addressed before the handing over date and not to favour a group over the other.
Prof Jega warned on the need for political parties to stick to timelines for campaigns.
The INEC chairman debunked the reports that the commission provided two different voters’ lists for last November’s election in Anambra State.
He said the voters’ lists for Ekiti State would be provided today as a prelude to the beginning of the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR).
Jega spoke at the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC)/INEC Forum on: Broadcast Media Coverage of Election: A Preamble to 2015.
He said: “Let me use the opportunity of this forum to restate that INEC’s choice of those dates was informed by purely rational and logical considerations. We have scheduled the elections for February 2015 to allow ample time for litigation, which are inevitable in our Nigerian context, before the commencement of new tenures of May 29, 2015.
“The allegation that INEC changed the sequence of elections in 2015, when compared with 2011, is simply not true. In 2011, we had the National Assembly election first; then, the presidential election and lastly, the state elections into governorship and State Assembly seats.”