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Tag: Jega

  • Don’t expect perfect elections in 2015 – Jega

    Don’t expect perfect elections in 2015 – Jega

    The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, on Monday sounded unconvincing on the 2015 general election.

    Jega said the electoral body was not promising a perfect election come 2015.

    Jega, who spoke during an audience with the United States of America Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle at the INEC Headquaters, Abuja, however said the commission will do its best.

    He said, “We are not promising a perfect election in 2015 but we are confident that we will do our best. We have taken some steps to achieve this, for instance staff training in collaboration with development partners, strategic plans and reorganized staff. We are planning a retreat to finalize the timetable for 2015.

    “We are still on the continuous voters’ register and have held series of meetings with security agencies, CSOs and development partners ahead of 2015. While it is the responsibility of INEC to organize civic and other registration awareness, the commission faces challenges of funding as well.

    “It is our responsibility under the Electoral Act to do civil education and even political education generally. It has always been challenging because the resources available to discharge that responsibility are usually insufficient, given the enormity of the task of dealing with a large illiterate population and to get them really understand what to do not only during voting but the larger issues of choosing good candidates and so on.”

    In his remark, the US Ambassador assured Nigeria of his country’s support.

     

  • Jega: INEC won’t repeat Anambra mistakes in Ekiti, Osun

    Jega: INEC won’t repeat Anambra mistakes in Ekiti, Osun

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has pledged to improve election management this year.

    Speaking on the forthcoming governorship elections in Osun and Ekiti states, INEC Chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega said the commission would not repeat its mistakes in the last November 16 governorship election in Anambra.

    Jega spoke yesterday at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja while hosting the Ambassador of the Netherlands to Nigeria, John C.M. Groffen.

    Acknowledging concerns raised about the 2015 general election, Jega said the commission had learnt lessons from previous elections.

    He said: “What happened in Anambra was unfortunate and does not represent what will happen in 2015. We learnt additional lessons from it and we are factoring it in our preparations for 2015.

    “We will have two governorship elections this year and we are doing all possible to ensure that they are conducted smoothly, freely and fairly. We have mapped out detailed plans from previous elections.

    “We are aware that a stable nation will lead to improved economic growth. Our job is to conduct credible polls and contribute to the political and economic stability of the country.

    “I am pleased to inform you that prospects of the coming year are good. We have done extensive research and preparations since 2011 and have made remarkable improvements in the process.

    “As we move to 2015, we are confident that it will be better than 2011. Elections in Nigeria, considering its size, are very challenging, but those challenges are not insurmountable. We have also learnt the hard way that sometimes, in spite of our best efforts, things happen, which raise questions about our preparations.

    “As far as we are concerned, 2014 will be a busy year for INEC, full of activities, but we look forward to conducting elections that will be free, fair and credible. We are committed to lifting the bar in conducting free and fair elections.”

    Urging Nigerians to be part of efforts to ensure credible polls, he said individuals, groups, parties and development partners must work together to achieve the goal.

    Groffen expressed concern over the country’s political stability, adding that he had been following the “interesting situation” in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    He said the international community was ready to help Nigeria ensure stability, adding: “We know that a stable Nigeria is conducive for business. We want to see free and fair elections, as this will help Nigeria become a more stable economy. We are here to discuss prospects of the coming year. The international community is willing to assist Nigeria where ever it wants help and INEC in particular.”

  • Elections: INEC rules out Anambra mistakes In Ekiti, Osun

    Elections: INEC rules out Anambra mistakes In Ekiti, Osun

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured Nigerians that it will improve on its election management this year.

    Speaking specifically on the forth coming governorship elections in Osun and Ekiti states later this year, INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, said the commission is determined not to allow a repeat of the Anambra governorship election mistakes.

    Jega spoke on Wednesday in Abuja when he hosted the Netherlands Ambassador to Nigeria, John C.M Groffen, at the commission’s headquarters.

    The ambassador cautioned against political instability in the country ahead of 2015.

    Jega, who acknowledged the various concerns raised about 2015, said the commission has learnt lessons from previous elections hence it was poised not to repeat those mistakes.

    According to him, “What happened in Anambra was unfortunate and it will not in any way represent what will happen in 2015. We learnt additional lessons from it and we are factoring it in our preparations for 2015.

    “We will have two governorship elections this year and we are doing all possible to ensure they are conducted smoothly, freely and fairly. We have mapped out detailed plans from previous elections.

    “We are aware that stable nation, will lead to improved economic growth. Our job is to use electoral process to ensure that elections are conducted with credibility and add to political and economic stability of the country.

    “I am pleased to inform you that prospects of the coming year are good because we have done extensive research and preparations since 2011. And we have made remarkable improvements into the process.

    “As we move to 2015, we are confident that it will be much better that 2011. Elections in Nigeria considering its size and complicity are very challenging but those challenges are not insurmountable. We have also learnt the hard way that sometimes in spite of our best efforts things happen which raise questions about our preparations.”

     

     

  • 2015 elections to gulp N92.9b – Jega

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) may require N92.9 billion for the conduct of 2015 elections.

    Also the election may not hold in parts of the northeast if insecurity persists in the area.

    The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, gave the hint on Monday at a stakeholders’ forum organized by the Senate Committee on INEC in collaboration with Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) Abuja and United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) Nigeria.

    Jega, who spoke on “Preparations and challenges ahead of 2015 general elections, “ said that it was not true that the cost of the 2011 general elections was high.

    He noted that in preparing for the 2015 elections, one guiding principle for the commission has been to make elections more cost-effective and to give Nigerians better value for money.

    He added, “Our estimate is that the cost of the election per voter, which is an international standard for viewing the cost of election, is coming down in Nigeria.

    “We project that for the 2015 elections this would come further down by almost $1- from $8.8 in 2011 to $7.9, representing almost a 10 per cent drop.

    “This compares favourably with some other African countries. However, we are anxious about ensuring that all our funding requirement being met well in advance of the 2015 general elections.”

    Jega said that Ghana spent $10 per voter during its last election while Kenya spent between $8.5 to $9 per voter

    Currently, Nigeria has about 73.5 million registered voters.

    The INEC boss assured that “preparations by INEC for the 2015 general election are very good and proceeding in earnest.”

     

     

  • Ekiti, Osun elections are test cases, says Jega

    Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega has said the challenge before the electoral body is how to conduct successful general elections in 2015.

    He said next year’s governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states will be test cases for INEC.

    Jega assured Nigerians that the lessons learnt from the recent Anambra State governorship election would be considered in the preparation for subsequent elections.

    The Anambra election has been adjudged the worst conducted by the Jega-led INEC.

    Jega acknowledged that there were some flaws, though he is still of the opinion that the election met the minimum standard.

    He spoke yesterday in Abuja during a meeting with 37 Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs).

    Jega urged the commission’s workers to put in their best to ensure the success of the 2015 general elections.

    He said: “The lessons we learnt from the Anambra election must be factored into our preparation for the 2015 general elections. I call on all RECs and staff to be united as we prepare for the general elections.

    “We are moving towards the last lap of our work and preparations will begin in the next one month or so. I urge all of us to contribute our best as we prepare.

    “There will be two governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states before the general polls. The challenge for us is to make the two governorship elections test cases in terms of remarkable improvement before the general elections.”

  • Jega to RECs: Ensure success of 2015 elections

    Jega to RECs: Ensure success of 2015 elections

    The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, on Thursday urged Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) to strive towards a successful 2015 general elections.

    He made the call at the quarterly meeting with the RECs in Abuja.

    He explained that the RECs had recently participated in an election skill management seminar to prepare them for the challenges ahead.

    “This is to enable them to identify risk factors that can serve as a challenge to the conduct of the election,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the INEC boss as saying at the meeting.

    Jega said that there should be an effective working relationship at all levels, adding that the commission was saddled with two major assignments as the general election drew nearer.

    He said the assignments were the continuous voter registration and the preparation of constituencies in readiness for the elections.

    He stressed that it was essential that the RECs did their best to ensure that the tasks were accomplished.

    The chairman said that the lessons learnt from the Anambra elections would be factored into the conduct of subsequent elections.

     

     

  • Anambra election: Jega defends voters register

    Anambra election: Jega defends voters register

    The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, has again defended the voters’ register used in the Anambra State governorship election.

    Opposition parties condemned the register as most eligible voters were omitted and thereby disfranchised from participating in the election.

    Though Jega agreed that there might be a flaw in the process, he said the register has requisite integrity which compares favourably with any on the continent.

    Prof. Jega spoke in Abuja at the Monday 4th Quarterly Meeting between the electoral body and political parties.

    The political parties at the meeting commended INEC over the permanent voters’ register and the handling of the Anambra State governorship election, but the All Progressive Congress (APC) insisted that it was “travesty of justice.”

    In his remark, Jega said the essence of the meeting is to exchange ideas on how best to keep on improving the electoral process and to strengthen mutual trust and confidence as the country move towards the 2015 general elections.

    INEC boss, who reiterated the need for continuous constructive engagement between political parties and INEC, said the situation with the voters register was not as bad as it was made to look.

     

     

  • Jega battles the poisoned chalice

    With the exception of one or two cases those appointed to head the electoral commission in the past have often been men of personal integrity. Usually, the appointing authorities go out of their way to look for the most saintly of characters in the land.

    A few days before he unveiled Professor Attahiru Jega as his pick to lead the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), President Goodluck Jonathan, in a television interview dropped a few hints about the man he had chosen. I remember him saying that although he had never met the academic, all who knew him said he was a person of unbending principle and integrity.

    Jonathan’s statement underlined the thinking that has driven the appointment of those to manage elections in Nigeria. If only we can get a Mother Teresa kind of saintly figure who all Nigerians can trust not to pull dirty tricks all would be well.

    But a halo is not all that is needed to run acceptable elections. The INEC chairman is just one person; his organisation employs thousands of people as it tries to execute its mandate. If the chairman is an angel and has thousands of devils carrying out his instructions, he would deliver an Anambra gubernatorial election kind of performance.

    Organising an election is about getting materials to polling points on time and ensuring that electoral officials are at their duty posts. It is about ensuring that the integrity of vital documents – from voters’ registers to ballot papers.

    A proven manager with experience running multinational scale businesses, or a military officer who has handled logistics in a war operation, are more likely to eliminate those things we complain about – logistics hiccups and late starts – than some bishop without sin.

    Quick to admit that Anambra was a mess, Jega now wants to be given another chance. He says he should not be judged by his latest outing: Nigerians should wait till 2015 before delivering a verdict on him.

    The problem with his request is that the same things we complain about today besmirched the 2011 polls. Anambra is just one state. If INEC can contrive such a monumental cock-up in that little space, I hate to think what will happen when it has to deal with 36 states.

    After heartfelt apologies Jega would probably retire. Let’s hope that another botched outing doesn’t retire Nigeria along with its bungling electoral umpires.

  • Jega: don’t judge me by Anambra poll

    Jega: don’t judge me by Anambra poll

    Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof Attahiru Jega yesterday begged Nigerians not to evaluate his integrity till after the 2015 general elections.

    Jega made the call during an interaction with the Civil Society Election Situation Room and Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) in Abuja.

    He insisted that the tainted November 16 governorship poll in Anambra should not be a parameter to judge his determination to conduct free, fair elections in 2015.

    Admitting that there were significant lapses and betrayal of trust by some unscrupulous INEC officials, Jega said the commission would ensure that corrupt elements were weeded out before 2015.

    To that effect, the INEC boss urged the public to give evidence against any staff who engaged in electoral malpractice in Anambra.

    He said: “We had expected Anambra election to be the best but unfortunately it was not. We did our best, however, from all indications, our best doesn’t seem good enough.

    “We have resolved that no matter what, we shall retain our sanity and remain focus. I have and will continue to tell Nigerians that there is no need for us to panic at this time.

    “Like I said previously, though we cannot cancel the election, my promise to Nigerians is that we will not spare anybody who has been found to have sabotaged our efforts.

    “We have to keep hope alive and continue to build confidence. We must deepen our democratic process. We must prevent reversals.

  • There are ‘issues’ to address, says Jega

    INDEPENDENT National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman Prof Attahiru Jega yesterday admitted that there are ‘issues’ to be addressed, particularly with the nation’s voters register but that nobody set out to deliberately disenfranchise anybody.

    Represented by the National Commissioner in charge of Legal Matters, Mrs. Thelma Iremiren, at a retreat on Electoral Matters organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters in collaboration with the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), in Calabar, Cross River State, he said said “I concede that we have issues which we need to address and I think everybody is quite disturbed that at this time we are still having issues with voters register. But I want to say without any contradiction that it was not deliberate to disenfranchise anybody”.

    The two day retreat, which began yesterday, is coming at a time when the nation’s electoral fortunes have just taken a deep plunge following a dismal performance by the electoral umpire in last week’s governorship election in Anambra State, which it declared inconclusive. But notwithstanding the huge deficit in the nation’s electoral fortunes, Jega said the commission is working assiduously to deliver a credible general elections in 2015.