According to the INEC chairman Attahiru Jega, the funds are not enough for the voters registeration exercise in Nigeria.
A sum of
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday requested for another N6.6 billion to spend during a seven-day extension of the voter registration. The chairman of the commission, Atahiru Jega, made the request when he appeared before the Senate to answer questions on the hiccups that have characterised the exercise which started on January 15.
Mr Jega said the commission made its estimates based on the cost of personnel, transportation, additional ink and other materials. The amount is an addition to the N87.7 billion it got before the kick off of the registration process.
Mr. Jega, who spoke confidently before the Senate, admitted that the commission has performed woefully. He was however optimistic that with the additional time and resources, the commission will be able to register at least 65 million eligible voters before the expiration of the new timeline.
“From our own projection as I speak with you now sir, if the Electoral Act is properly amended, we believe that if we have an extension of one week from the January 29 to February 5, God willing we will be able to register every (eligible) Nigerian. We have all the projections.” Mr. Jega said.
Comfortable level
The chairman said that despite the initial hiccups experienced at the beginning which he blamed on the high sensitivity of the finger scanner, the project has advanced to a comfortable point. He said that they are now registering about 4.3 million eligible voters daily, since Monday.
“On the first day nationwide, we are able to register only 250, 000 voters but as we deploy equipment and software and they become more efficient, as I speak with you the average per day is 4.3 million. By four days ago, we have registered 28.5 million Nigerians.
“On an average of 4.3 million per day, things are improving; that average is going up, by our own estimation by Saturday, when we close by 29th we would have registered anywhere between 43 to 45 million Nigerians. If we get an additional extension of seven days still using that projection of 4.3 million per day, by the end of that one week we will be able to register more than 65 million Nigerians.’’ Mr. Jega, who acknowledged that there were initial technical hitches promised that the commission was determined to complete the exercise without any compromise. He denied the allegation that INEC imported substandard Direct Data Capture (DDC) machines.
He said, “The process of the award of the contracts followed due process and we gave specification to be met and we were given assurance of their warranty. We have heard stories that INEC brought in substandard DDC machines, which is not true. Some of these machines actually got damaged during clearance and delivery. There has been replacement of about 500 of the damaged 1000 DDC machines,’’ he added.
He categorically said the commission would not use the old voter register. ``No matter the imperfections that may have characterised the voter registration, we are going to use the electronically generated register. Let it be on record that we have never contemplated going back to the old register,’’ he added.
On the voting system for the April polls, he insisted that, “we are going to use the manual system of voting at the April elections, using the electronically generated voter register.”
Unlike President Goodluck Jonathan who blamed some of the lapses on youth corps members working for the commission, Mr Jega lauded their commitment to duty in spite of several challenges. He added that 15 of them serving as ad hoc staff who compromised their integrity have been apprehended and would be prosecuted.
Request granted
As usual with most requests from the leadership of INEC, the one week extension was granted. However, even though Mr. Jega said he preferred the removal of the provision prescribing a timeline for registration of voters in the Electoral Act, he would work within the ambits of the Act.
“Under normal circumstances, the issue of registration should be administrative, but somewhere it came under the Electoral Act and now you have the responsibility to help us address it. If you can remove that and make it administrative to INEC, frankly the problems will be resolved,” Jega argued.
Soon after he left their chambers, the senators adopted a House of Representatives bill to amend the 2010 Electoral Act - giving the commission 30-day room to work with.
The House of Representatives had on Tuesday swiftly approved a third amendment to the Electoral Act when it reconvened to allow the commission more time for registration. Under the new amendment, the registration of voters can end 30 days before elections, instead of the 60 days earlier stipulated.
With this amendment the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) now has a full month at their disposal for the registration. Mr Mark however said Mr Jega should not expect extra fund
Emmanuel Ogala of 234next.com reports
Image- http://www.republicreport.com/
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