Reps, Jega Disagree Over Voter Card In view of the seeming - TopicsExpress



          

Reps, Jega Disagree Over Voter Card In view of the seeming inability of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to distribute the permanent voter cards (PVCs) to all registered voters ahead of the February polls, the House of Representatives has directed the electoral umpire to allow eligible voters to vote with their temporary voter cards (TVCs) during the forthcoming general election. The House arrived at the decision at yesterday’s plenary after adopting a motion by the House minority leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila to that effect. While leading the debate, Gbajabiamila (Lagos/APC) stated that it was “very unlikely” that INEC will be able to distribute the Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) to all registered voters before the elections. “The general elections being just four weeks or 31 days from now, it is very unlikely that the commission will be able to distribute the permanent voter cards to all registered and eligible voters before the elections. “If the current position of the commission – that only those voters with the permanent voter cards are qualified to vote – is not addressed, many registered and eligible voters will be disenfranchised in the 2015 general election to the detriment of the growth of democracy in Nigeria,” he said. But few hours later, INEC insisted that only voters with PVCs will be allowed to vote in the 2015 general elections, saying it has not received the House of Reps’ directive to the contrary. INEC chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega, disclosed the commission’s stance yesterday at a press briefing in Abuja, where he also revealed that there are currently 68,833,476 million eligible voters in INEC’s register for the 2015 general election. This figure is below the initial 73 million voters. Similarly, he revealed that after conducting business rules, which involves the verification of fingerprints, 681,485 persons will not get the PVCs, adding that over four million persons were identified as multiple voters after the sanitisation process. Jega, who formally unveiled the development at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja to political parties, said the commission was yet to get official notification from the House of Representatives on the use of Temporary Voter Cards (TVC). He further stated that the commission had taken delivery of 132,000 units of card readers for the elections in the 120,000 polling centres in the country. Jega also revealed that the electoral umpire had received all the funding it needs for the 2015 election from the federal government. He, however, declined to state the actual figures for fear of being misquoted, referring journalists to the website of the commission. The director of ICT department, Chidi Nwafor, made a presentation of how the commission arrived at the figure of 68 million in voter register. He recalled that the voter register rose from 73miilion to 74 million after the 2011 election but that after the weeding out of multiple voters, it came down to the current figure. But while addressing a late press conference, Jega said INEC had now formally signed off the register for the conduct of elections in February this year, telling those present that the document would be in the commission’s website. Jega noted that while 14 presidential candidates were in the race, 739 senatorial candidates are in the race while 1,780 candidates are running for seats in the House of Representatives. According to him, the list of nominated governorship and state house of assembly candidates will be published on January 27. On the directive by the House of Representatives that Temporary Voter Cards (TVCs) should be used for the 2015 elections, Jega noted that the commission was yet to get such directive. “I can tell you that we are committed to ensuring that the 2015 election is conducted only using the PVCs and we are committed to doing that because we have introduced technology to reduce fraud.” Saying the the card readers will stop the fraudulent process in elections, he declared that such cannot be achieved with temporary voter cards. While he said the commission would respond to the motion from the House Reps, he noted the commission was doing all that is possible to ensure that all registered voters get their cards before the poll day. He lamented that PVCs had been lying at local government centres, and that many Nigerians left it late for collection, even as he revealed that the commission had taken additional procurements of PVCs for distribution before the 2015 election. On elections in the insurgency-ravage North East, the INEC boss said the commission was also prepared to conduct elections in all the states, including the North East states experiencing terror attacks. He denied having said anything that raised doubt over the conduct of elections in the three North East states. “I do not entertain any doubt in the capacity of INEC to hold elections in these states. What I said is that some areas are unlikely to take place in these areas. That does not mean that we are ready to conduct elections in the states.” On voting by internally displaced persons, Jega noted that a stakeholders’ meeting will be held to discuss the modalities to address their needs. Chairman of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Dr. Yunusa Tanko, commended INEC for its strict compliance to the timetable as demanded by law and asked that the copies of the voter register are presented to parties to clear doubts. More defections as Reps resume plenary As members of the House of Representatives resumed from a three-week break yesterday, five of them officially notified the House of their decision to defect from their parties. At the resumed plenary, Speaker Aminu Tambuwal read out separate letters from the affected members to this effect. The members, who have changed their political parties are Hon. Eddy Ifeanyichukwu Mbadiwe who defected from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA, Imo) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Mbadiwe specifically gave “irredeemable factionalisation” of his former party as the reason for his defection. Others are Hon Murtala Kayode Busari, formerly of the Accord Party (AP, Oyo), and now of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). Similarly, Hon. Ibrahim Adeniyi Olaifa (AP, Oyo) has also moved to the SDP. Meanwhile, the ruling PDP lost two members as Hon. Jerry Mamwe (Taraba) moved to SDP, citing “shoddy treatment” meted to him and his supporters as reasons for his action, while Hon. Ibrahim Eibo (formerly PDP, Niger) joined the All Progressives Congress (APC). Reps probe alleged APC hacking of INEC database In a related development, the House of Representatives has launched an inquest into the Department of State Services’ (DSS) allegation that the All Progressives Congress (APC) was planning to hack into the database of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The probe followed a motion moved by the House Deputy Leader, Leo Ogor (Delta/PDP) who asserted that the motion was not politically motivated. The probe report is expected in two weeks “The allegations are weighty. It is important we investigate their veracity. The probe is not motivated from any political interest and is in the interest of the 2015 election. “The allegations coming at the heels of an election period calls for concern that should not be treated with levity. INEC data base contain highly sensitive data and if compromised could cast heinous aspersions on the integrity of the forth coming elections,” he said. A DSS spokesperson had told newsmen at a news conference in early January that items retrieved from the APC data centre on November 20, 2014, showed that the party had plans to clone the INEC Permanent Voter Card. Nigeria will not disintegrate after elections – Mark ….. Says INEC must ensure all eligible Nigerians vote Senate President David Mark has assured that contrary to public apprehension that the country may disintegrate after the general election, he remains optimistic that the country has the strength of character, the political will, the perseverance and maturity to rise above all the challenges that lie ahead. This is just as he also appealed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure that all eligible Nigerians vote in the coming elections. Mark also urged Nigerians not to politicize the insurgency ravaging the North East part of the country on the grounds that when the bombs go off, they are non-partisan in their destructive nature. These comments were contained in his welcome speech to senators yesterday at the Senate chamber of the National Assembly after the resumption of their three-week recess. Mark also lamented that he was disturbed and saddened by the war songs emanating from many quarters, particularly from highly placed Nigerians who are threatening fire and brimstone, adding that elections need not dissolve into theatres of war. “It is my belief that war mongering will only result in a legacy that we will all regret. As distinguished senators, we have a role to play in ensuring that Nigeria witnesses a peaceful general election. Despite the much vaunted fear, apprehension and anxiety that our nation may not survive the elections by some dooms day prophets, I personally remain optimistic that we have the strength of character, the political will, the perseverance and maturity to rise above all the challenges that lie ahead. We are all leaders and I know that we will work towards peace and harmony. Our nation will not disintegrate after the elections!” Mark insisted. Senator Mark also charged government to do all it can to end insurgency, saying that this is a war that the country must win and win quickly. He also urged the armed forces and government to intensify efforts to rescue the Chibok girls who have been in captivity since April last year “The truth is that the North Eastern part of our country is under siege. The tendency is to blame government for this sore state of affairs. Every Nigerian, irrespective of partisanship, must demonstrate patriotism to our country. We must support our armed forces and other security operatives to stop this evil. Bomb blasts are non-partisan in their destructive nature. Insecurity plagues all of us and must be tackled holistically,” the Senate president noted. On the forthcoming general elections, he told politicians and the entire political class that, in order to achieve free, fair, transparent and credible elections, they must INEC to carry out its responsibilities without hindrance.
Posted on: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 06:59:44 +0000

Trending Topics



Recently Viewed Topics




© 2015