The Senate yesterday summoned the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, to appear before it today in plenary and brief the Chamber on the circumstances that led to the postponement of the general elections earlier scheduled for February 14 and 28. This was as the All Progressives Congress (APC) senators kicked against the invitation, arguing that it was the Service Chiefs, who advised INEC to postpone the elections on security grounds, that should be summoned to brief the legislators on the true position of things.
The Senate, which resumed plenary after over one month recess it embarked upon to enable its members participate in the electioneering, arrived at the resolution sequel to a motion of urgent public importance brought to the floor of the Chamber by the Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba. Prior to moving the motion, the Senate Leader had drawn the attention of the Senators to the fact that the general elections were scheduled to hold in February but later rescheduled for March 28 and April 11 due to reasons ascribed to the state of insecurity in the North-East, distribution of permanent voters’ cards (PVCs), deployment of INEC staff and other encumbrances.
The Senate Minority Leader, Senator George Akume, had wanted the Senate to summon the Service Chiefs along with Jega, to come and explain why they could not provide sufficient security for the smooth conduct of the elections as earlier scheduled. However, the President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, who presided over the session, opposed the suggestion, arguing that the Senate should first meet with the head of the electoral umpire, get all the necessary information about the elections, and the mediating factors that compelled the Commission to postpone the polls. Mark also told the Senate that if there was need to invite the Service Chiefs, that the Chamber would go ahead to do so after meeting with Jega.
The motion was adopted by a unanimous voice vote of the lawmakers. Following the reservations of the members of the APC on the invitation of the INEC Chairman rather than the Service Chiefs, the opposition lawmakers, addressed a press conference at the National Assembly, accusing the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of plotting to rig the elections through the postponement.
Akume, who led other APC Senators to address the press while plenary was still on, insisted that the attention should be focused on the security agencies on why they discouraged INEC from holding the elections as scheduled based on security reasons.
The aggrieved lawmakers observed that countries like Egypt, Syria, Kenya, Columbia, Afghanistan, Mali and other nations with more serious incidences of security challenges had organised elections successfully, wondering why Nigerian situation should be different. Akume, therefore, warned that INEC must hold the rescheduled elections without further postponement to avoid provoking unpleasant consequences in the polity, stressing that the opposition party would resist any attempt from any quarters to further shift the elections or manipulate the electoral process.
He opined that it was because of the increasing acceptability being received by the APC across the country that prompted the agitation for postponement of the polls by those he considered to have been jolted by the development.
Addressing the press after plenary, Senate spokesman, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, clarified that the Senate was convinced that Jega would supply the needed information, stating however, that if the problem boiled down to security, the Upper Chamber would look for means of tackling the situation.
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