He said the way it was conducted would have great implication for the country.
Jega made the submission in a lecture titled, ‘The role of citizens in ensuring free, fair and credible elections,’ hosted by the University Advancement Centre of the University of Ibadan on Friday.
He said coming out from a faulty 2007 election and its accompanying negative comments from within and the international community, all Nigerians must work together to get it right this time.
The INEC boss said daunting as the challenge might seem, he was ready to organise elections that would project Nigeria positively in the comity of nations.
Jega therefore asked Nigerians to shed their apathy towards the nation‘s electoral process.
He said, ”There are many legitimate grounds giving rise to apathy and indifference among the citizens. The failure of the system, especially the governance processes, to advance and satisfy popular needs and aspirations, largely accounts for this.
”The massive, reckless abuse of trust by those entrusted with the management of collective national resources and common affairs has engendered a feeling of hopelessness, so much that people are forgetting how collective resolve, collective undertaking and collective engagement have historically been the panacea for the resolution of problems collectively faced.”
Jega added that the apathy is a serious concern to INEC and to all patriots, who were committed to the greatness, progress and development of the country.
He assured Nigerians that substantial progress had been made towards addressing some of the challenges of credible elections as identified by the commission.
Jega,who submitted that political parties were critical to the operations of democracies, urged them to shun the imposition of candidates but ensure internal democracy among them.
He also charged security agencies, civil society organisations and the media among others, collaborate with the commission to deliver a credible election.
He confirmed that the contract for the procurement of the Direct Data Capture Machines that would be used for voter registration had not been signed, but assured that with the possible extension of time by the National Assembly, the commission would still have ample time to conduct a hitch-free registration.
A former Secretray-General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, observed that if not properly conducted, the 2011 election was capable of plunging the country into chaos.
Anyaoku, who was the chairman of the event, therefore asked all Nigerians to work towards correcting the ills associated with past elections in the country.
The outgoing Vice-Chancellor of UI, Prof. Olufemi Bamiro, identified faulty elections and electioneering activities as the bane of the nation‘s democracy.
Bamiro explained that the programme was the university‘s little way of contributing to the success of the 2011 elections.
| Posted: at | |
TRENDING GISTS 
Pandemonium As Bandits Strike Again, Kill Four, Abduct Six In Zamfara
Betty Akeredolu Called Out By Aide, Folasade For Abandoning Her After Serving Her For 7Yrs On N45k Monthly Salary
BREAKING: Tragedy As 4 Year Old Boy Dies In Abuja School Amid Suspicion Of Foul Play