Lawmaker Rates INEC Poor Over Voters Card Distribution As the 2015 general elections approach, the chairman of the Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mufutau Egberongbe, has declared that only the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, could make the country remain united. Egberongbe, who made the statement in an interview with our correspondent recently, stated that the country’s unity is already on the edge with the current political and security situations in Nigeria, He added that the continued existence of Nigeria lies with how effective INEC handles the forthcoming elections in the country. Hon Mufutau Egberongbe The lawmaker representing Apapa Constituency 1 at the Lagos Assembly, however, expressed lack of confidence in the ability of the electoral umpire to carry out a free and fair election in 2015 judging from its poor handling of the distribution of Permanent Voters Cards and the ongoing Continuous Voters Registration exercise in some states of the federation. He said:“I must express my disappointment in the Chairman of INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega, concerning the distribution of the Permanent Voters Cards as well as the ongoing Continuous Voters Registration exercise. “This is one individual I had so much respect for, but unfolding events show that the man may have compromised and the goodwill that the people used to know him for in the academics and as an activist and a freedom fighter is no longer there. “It has shown that the man is no longer with the masses; he is not the Attahiru Jega that we used to know. I want to believe that INEC and PDP are one, they are in a marriage and in marriage, one plus one is not two, it is one. INEC Chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega “The exercise in question, I mean the registration of voters was conducted in 2011 and four years after, we are still in limbo as it affects the provision of Permanent Voters Cards (PVC). So, INEC has failed, it is a failure and I do not have confidence in INEC as an institution. “If the exercise that was conducted about four years ago is not completed, it shows that the electioneering process slated for February, 2015 is going to be a charade. “I must tell you that it is not a co-incidence that the exercise was not properly done in Lagos, Rivers and Kano that are APC states, which are also capable of changing the political landscape of Nigeria in February, 2015 based on their population. “Are we saying these are just sheer co-incidence? No, they were manipulated,” he said arguing that in Lagos, for example, over one million voters were dis-enfranchised and de-listed from the system recently. “We can see the handwriting on the wall and we must tell Professor Jega that he has a future to protect; he has his integrity to protect as a lecturer. “We know that when we don’t have free and fair election, it leads to a chaotic situation that leads to loss of lives and blood shedding. The blood that would be shed would be on his head and as a Muslim, he should know that and with that he would have committed murder.” Commenting on how to ensure a successful 2015 general elections, Egberongbe said the way forward is for Nigerians to speak with one voice concerning the current situations in the country.
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 22:22:13 +0000
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