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‘Buhari should strengthen electoral process with Uwais report’

By Adamu Abuh, Abuja  
01 July 2015   |   1:19 am
AS the tenure of the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega officially ended yesterday, Chairman of the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), Comrade Ibrahim Zikirullahi has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to revisit the Justice Muhammed Lawal Uwais report on electoral reform
Attahiru Jega

Jega

AS the tenure of the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega officially ended yesterday, Chairman of the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), Comrade Ibrahim Zikirullahi has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to revisit the Justice Muhammed Lawal Uwais report on electoral reform.

Speaking to the Guardian in Abuja yesterday, he said notwithstanding the impressive performance of the Jega led INEC, more needs to be done to ensure the independence of the electoral umpire.

Zikirullahi who was Chairman at the public presentation of the TMG’s final report, remarked that the authorities can take a cue from the South African model whereby the President would have no say in the appointment of the head of the electoral body.

Stressing the need for INEC to be financially independent and accountable to Nigerians, he said “the framework has been established through Justice Uwais report. So the independence of INEC should not just be something in name or just in the paper. It is something that has to be well stamped and implemented. By this I mean that the power of the president to constitute the commission itself should be removed. I

t should reside with the people just like the model we have in South Africa whereby as Jega is leaving now the position should be advertised and those interested can apply.

“Then a committee would be there to look at the applicants curriculum vitae and they would be published and advertised. Then if you have any objection as a member of the public because he is going there to serve your interests, you raise it if the person is corrupt.

There is a time to clear out all those concern then the national Assembly would now look through the list, they would study it and make proclamation and the list is forwarded to the President which is ceremonial for him to announce.     In a goodwill message, head of Research, Policy and Advocacy  of the Youth Initiative for Advocacy Growth and Advancement (YIAGA) , Mr Samson Itodo expressed concern that over  N120 billion had been expended by INEC to conduct the 2015 poll at the expense of Nigerians.

According to him: “We all know that election is a very expensive activity especially in a country like Nigeria that has a very high electoral demography and a vast population, however there is a need for us as a nation to cut down the cost of running election.

Nigeria as a country cannot continue spending that much on election, INEC has to device means to cut down the cost. The country cannot be procuring electoral equipments every time the country has to embark on election, it is frivolous    “INEC spent huge amount of money for the recruitment of ad-hoc staffs for the election, that is quite understandable, I think Nigerians too should be able to make some sacrifices, we need to have volunteers that will assist INEC during elections, this will go a long way in cutting the cost of election in the country.”

While urging President Buhari to consider the appointment of the next INEC Chairman as a matter of great importance, he said, “If there is anything that the President should be greatly concerned about at the moment, it is the appointment of a very credible person to head the INEC.

Buhari should not bring any person that will come and tarnish the good image that the outgoing Chairman, hhas laboured to provide, Nigerians need a person with high integrity to pilot the affairs of INEC in years to come

The Deputy Country Director of the Mac Arthur Foundation, Oladayo Olaide who lauded both the citizenry and TMG for working in concert in ensuring the peaceful conduct of the 2015 poll, noted that it was heartwarming that those who predicted that Nigeria would disintegrate over the outcome of the poll have been brought to shame.

Olaide said it now behooves on the citizenry to prevail on President Buhari who he described “as the biggest beneficiary” of the reform in the electoral system under the outgoing INEC Chief, to further strengthen the electoral process.

He urged Nigerians to commence the process of suggesting names of credible persons to fill the seats of the INEC Chairman and those of the Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC), stressing that unknown to many, the challenges plaguing the electoral process was more of a human problem than of issues relating to technicalities of laws, the use of card readers and the permanent voters cards (PVCs).

Olaide also condemned the spate of killings that occurred in the build up to the elections and urged the authorities to ensure that those that perpetrated the death of fifty two persons across the country are made to face the wrath of the law.

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