By Ikechukwu Okaforadi
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Attahiru Jega has assured that the commission is fully prepared to conduct a free, fair and acceptable election, come 2015.
Speaking when he played host to the United States (US) Under-Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, Sarah, Jega said INEC is now prepared technically and personnel wise for the forthcoming elections.
He also explained why the card readers will not be deployed in the Ekiti and Osun governorship elections, saying the interest generated by both elections would not allow it to be used in the pilot scheme.
INEC boss said with all the reforms and innovations introduced by the commission, he was optimistic that the forthcoming 2015 election will better organized when compared to 2011.
“We are optimistic that technically INEC will organize a better, fairer and acceptable election come 2015”, Jega said.
“We are not shying away from the fact that the commission had encountered some challenges in the recent elections”, Jega said, adding that the commission has done a lot to correct such challenges encountered in the past.
According to him, “we have learnt from our past logistic challenges and we will ensure that they don’t affect us in subsequent elections”.
He further said that the commission is very confident that 2015 elections will be better than 2011, even as he told his guest that the commission has continued to engage all the stakeholders in the country’s democratic process, as part of the efforts to ensure a better and acceptable elections come 2015.
He also announced that INEC will inaugurate the Committee on Voter Education to assist in enlightening the public.
He also noted that in the next three months, the commission would have been done with Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) distribution, and commended US and other development partners for assisting the commission in turning the corner in electioneering process.
He noted that such assistance and support had been invaluable to the success recorded so far, even as he assured his audience that INEC will keep on improving on its performance.
Earlier, US Under-Secretary said her country is looking forward to next general elections in Nigeria.
She also commended the electoral body for the transformation it has carried out in the electioneering process.
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