The Nigerian Senate has summoned the Chairman of the Independent
National Electoral Commission, INEC, Attahiru Jega, over the
postponement of the country’s general elections.
The Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, raised the motion for Mr. Jega
to be invited to explain why the general elections which were scheduled
for February were postponed to March and April.
Mr. Jega was also invited to show how cards readers would be used at
the elections. The INEC chairman is expected to attend the session with
the card readers to prove its efficiency to the lawmakers.
Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress Senators questioned why Mr. Jega should be invited.
They contended that the heads of the military should have been
invited instead to explain why they would have been unable to provide
security on the previous dates scheduled for the elections.
One of the reasons Mr. Jega gave for postponing the elections was
that the military said they will not provide security during the polls,
as they would be more focused on combating the Boko Haram insurgency in
the North East during that period.
The APC senators also kicked against any possible postponement of the elections for a second time.
The Minority Senate Leader, George Akume, during the briefing said he
believed that the laws were manipulated. He said Ghana used the card
readers, so why not Nigeria.
He also pointed out that Pakistan, Mali and Iraq held elections while
at war so Nigeria’s case should not be different especially with
100,000 troops in the Nigerian Army.
The foregoing led Senate President, David Mark to announce that the INEC
chairman would appear before the Senate on Wednesday. He however noted
that the Senate would not hesitate to summon the Service Chiefs if the
need arises for them to explain their role in the shift of the elections
dates.
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