Guardian
N'Assembly cautions INEC, may consider new dates for polls
Legislators to revisit new Constitution, Electoral Act
Commission reviews contracts for voters' register
THE cloud over the 2011 general elections was symbolised by the National Assembly's reaction to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC's) proposal for a shift in the earlier dates for the exercise.
In fact, the 88-member National Assembly Joint Committee on Constitution Review, which reconvened in Abuja, said meeting INEC's request will not only be tasking but time consuming.
Consequently, the lawmakers told INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, that next time he comes to them on election-related matters, he would meet a stiff resistance.
Although they expressed positive disposition to the demand, the joint panel warned the commission to do everything to avoid approaching the National Assembly for any legislative nod as it relates to next year's elections.
Also, at a separate forum in Abuja, Jega said but for its illegality and danger for the body-politic, campaigners for a shift of the inauguration of the winners of the 2011polls from May 29 to October 1 would have received the ears of INEC.
He said May 29 fixed for the exit of the current leaders is sacrosanct, fearing that shifting the date could spell disaster for the nation and its democracy.
The panel was summoned from its recess by the National Assembly's leadership to discuss INEC's request for a shift in the date for the general elections from January to April next year.
It warned Jega not to bring any other request to the National Assembly that has to do with the 2011 elections again.
At the well-attended meeting, the lawmakers expressed concerns about the pains, which the task of amending the relevant sections of the new constitution and the 2010 Electoral Act to accommodate INEC's request entailed.
The Assembly would have to alter the provision of the Constitution, which required that "an election to the office of the President shall be held on a date not earlier than 120 days and not later than 150 days before the expiration of the term of office of the last holder of that office."
It would equally amend the provision of the 2010 Electoral Act, which states that "the registration of voters, updating and revision of the register of voters under this section shall stop not later than 60 days before any election covered by this Act."
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, who attended the meeting despite not being a member, did not mince words in issuing stern warning to Jega against making further request that would require legislative input from the National Assembly.
"The National Assembly has always done its best to national issues when it matters most. But after this presentation by INEC, we pray we will not have a reason to listen to another one because when you made a presentation to us regarding the funding for voters' register the other time, the facts and figures changed when eventually the official request was presented to the House of Representatives."
The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over the meeting, had expressed the readiness of the committee to approve INEC's request. He, however, said "the request was going to be very difficult, time-consuming."
Also, the Deputy Speaker of the Lower House, Usman Nafada, said members of the committee would not be well disposed to treating any further request on the 2011 elections from INEC.
He said: "We hope this will be the last request because it won't continue this way. If there is another request, I think it will become a crisis. I urge Jega to please pull all the resources around INEC to ensure that the aspirations of Nigerians for free, fair and credible elections in 2011. We have granted two requests for INEC on this issue of 2011 elections before, but I want to believe that this will be the last."
Earlier, Jega took time to explain why the request became imperative, pointing out that the elections could be jeopardised if it was not granted. He said INEC refused to make the request earlier than now for fear of being misunderstood.
"We are not making a frivolous request; it is necessary so that the outcome of our efforts would be qualitative. Going by the existing time-frame, the aspirations of Nigerians may be compromised.
"Please explore the avenues of providing extension of time for INEC to produce a credible voters' register that will help actualise credible, free and fair elections. We need the time for the elections to be extended to the end of April," Jega said.
He was, however, confident that if the National Assembly amends the Constitution and the Electoral Act to suit the recommendations of the leadership of the registered political parties, the commission would conduct credible, free and fair polls next year.
Going by the election timetable released by the commission early this month, INEC plans to start the voters' registration from November 1 to 14, while the first strand of election of the National Assembly will hold on January 15, 2011, followed by the presidential polls on January 22 and governorship/state assemblies on January 29, 2011.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja yesterday, Jega said the issue of time-frame had become an important decision that must be taken by National Assembly if the nation's quest for a credible election will be realised.
At his maiden meeting with the media, Jega had outlined the tentative arrangement regarding the production of voter register and other deliverables for the elections, the process of which would have culminated in elections next January.
Jega said: "It has become clear that due to a combination of legal, administrative and practical reasons, among them, delays in bringing the new electoral legal framework into operation, we have missed some of these timelines. Fortunately, however, the issue of funding has been settled with the passage of the supplementary appropriation bill by the National Assembly and the agreement we have reached with the Federal Ministry of Finance on a schedule for releasing the funds.
"But the challenge of time persists. As a commission, we have repeatedly insisted that we shall work within the existing legal framework, as contained in the 1999 Constitution as amended and the 2010 Electoral Act. We have also consistently said that the more time we have the better the outcomes of both the voter register and the 2011 elections."
He said INEC recognised the fact that it was not its responsibility to establish or change the legal framework, including the timelines for electoral activities. Consequently, to canvass a change in the legal and constitutional provisions on election dates would not only be inappropriate, but could open INEC to public suspicion, given the well-known recent electoral history of Nigeria.
"Second, the question of fixing and changing election dates has been the major sore points in our electoral experience in Nigeria. The degree of partisanship that usually informs discussion of these issues is legendary. Consequently, we as a commission believe that our direct involvement in such debates could undermine the independence of INEC in public eye. Yet, we fully understand the position within the relevant arms of government that INEC is in the best position to indicate if it needs more time to carry out its constitutional roles effectively."
He said faced with the above dilemma, the commission at its recent retreat with National Commissioners and Resident Electoral Commissioners in Calabar, Cross River State resolved among other things to engage relevant stakeholders in consultations on this critical outstanding issue of constricting time-frame, which he said was not peculiar to INEC.
The INEC chief said his consultation with the leadership of all political parties showed that it was also a problem faced by these critical players in the process, saying that the relevant authorities, both at the Legislative and Executive arms of government have been notified of the development.
Jega, therefore, appealed to the lawmakers as they return from their recess to explore ways to extend the timetable for INEC to conduct the voter registration and the 2011 elections. Should this happen, Jega restated that the May 29, 2011 inauguration date must remain sacrosanct.
While admitting that the commission made some inputs into the process that produced the 2010 Electoral Act, Jega said INEC contributions were only limited to the review of two sections, which were to give more time to INEC on the time lines for the voter registration and the declaration of time table.
"We requested for more time, but it took time before the amendment came into existence, so most of the time given was actually eroded by the delay in bringing about the constitution and the Electoral Act itself into effect, before it was eventually signed and it became operational. In addition to that, there were other delays, which have arisen with regards to the procurement of direct data capture machines. So, it is wrong to say that the request we are now making is belated, far from it."
He admitted that Nigerians do things at the dying minutes, but added that there was nothing the commission could do, if the atmosphere was not conducive. He said: "I'm not a magician, I'm somebody, who tries to do his best under any circumstances and I'm glad that I'm not alone in this task, I have national commissioners, and we have been working very well, and we are all united in giving our best for the success of the exercise. So, it is not a matter of magic, it is a matter of being rational, being scientific in our reasons.
"It is true that we have asked the election to be shifted to April and it is also true that taking into consideration our past experiences, there may not be sufficient time for all the litigations, before the swearing-in of whoever got elected on May 29, 2011. But remember, we had elections in 2007, we swore a president before the process was conclude and till today there are still litigations that have not been concluded. So, what it means is that, unfortunately, we may have to have a President sworn in when litigations are not concluded. It will be unfortunate, but it is better than to proceed with elections in January and not have that happen.
"But, if we have extension to April, given our commitment to do our best, we are very positive and hopeful that we will reduce a lot of the possibility of litigation. People who are serious and sincere will know that we would have done a good job and that there will be no reason to go to court, and even if they go to court, they will be doing so because Nigerians can go to court for anything."
He insisted that May 29 handover date was feasible. In fact, in INEC's thinking, what would create more problems for the nation would be if it misses the May 29 timeline, because that will fix into the policy of whether there is the politics of elongation of tenure, or otherwise.
"So, we believe that whatever we can do, let us avoid the argument of the elongation of tenure, because once you go beyond the May 29, obviously, those who have been elected earlier may have a tenure elongated, or they may have to create a transitional arrangement, the terms of which nobody knows for now, which may be very contentious in terms of bringing it about. And we believe that if we have extension to April, we can conduct a credible election and power will be transferred to an elected president latest by May 29 as required by the constitution.
"We feel that shifting that may create more problems than we can easily handle, it will create more controversy and so on, which are better avoided. That is why we as a commission need extension, want extension, but we don't want any extension that can affect May 29, because we know the problems that can create."
He said INEC had since done credible international biding process for the acquisition of the Direct Data Capture Machines (DDCMs), which is fully in compliance with the Nigeria's due process. So the story that there was no international bidding process is not true.
"We have a draft agreement, we are reviewing it with the contractors, and with them you know how these things are, you have to go over every clause, you have to cross the t's and dot the i's because you don't want to sign a contract and realise that there is a major error or omission."
Dear All:
QUOTE
Jega said his request for more time was not an afterthought as many people might want to believe, adding that he knew all along that the commission needed more time but was afraid of requesting for it because of what the people might say.
UNQUOTE
Hmmm.....
Okay, you got the money, you got promise for the extension....next is delivering free, fair and credible elections.
Bolaji Aluko
Shaking his head
TRIBUTE2011: NASS grants INEC's request for election shift •Says no more requests •Request for time extension not frivolous -Jega
THE National Assembly, on Monday agreed to grant the request of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for a shift in the date of next year's general election originally scheduled for January.
This is just as it (National Assembly) told INEC chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, to make the request for time extension the last towards the conduct of the 2011 elections, saying that it is not comfortable with the incessant requests.
The chairman of the Joint committee of the Review of the constitution and the Deputy Senate President, Mr Ike Ekweremadu, told newsmen at the end of the closed door meeting that the committee had agreed to grant the extension of time as requested by the INEC chairman.
The vice chairman of the Constitution Review Committee and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Usman Nafada, also said that any further request apart from the current demand for time extension might lead to crisis.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Dimeji Bankole, who was at the meeting which included the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr Mohammed Adoke, also supported his deputy, stating that the INEC request would be considered but prayed that the commission would not come up with another request before the 2011 elections.
However, Professor Jega, during his presentation to defend his proposal that the election be shifted from January as provided for in the 2010 Electoral Act, requested that the election be shifted to April ending.
According to Nafada, "Nigerians are waiting anxiously for the outcome of this, we pray that at the end of our deliberation, you will be able to come out with an acceptable procedure and timetable for the conduct of the general election in 2011. The Senate and the House came back to consider the request of INEC and to that end, the National Assembly have done our own bit and again there may be another request from INEC, what we are expected to do as members of the National Assembly is to play our own role and leave the rest for those who are responsible for implementing it.
"Nigerians are waiting, we have been doing our own bit, we have done it once and we have done it for the second time and we are now expected to do it for the third time, we will do it again and pass it to those who are responsible for its implementation to implement."
Nafada added that, "we pray that this time round, this will be the last request that will come from any quarters regarding these elections because it will not continue this way. If there is any failure, God forbid bad thing, I think it will become a crisis. Therefore for those who are responsible for implementation, I am calling on them, most especially the INEC chairman and his commissioners, it is not an easy job, sometimes you will be looking at it as an easy job, but when you come closer you will discover that it is not the way you are looking at it from that angle, it is something different, therefore you have to pool all the resources available to you to actualise these elections in 2011."
He, however, assured the INEC chairman that the entire National Assembly would grant them whatever they wanted for this purpose and "like I said, this should be the last time we will be granting anything for that purpose to anybody from the National Assembly. We have done well, we believe Nigerians now have confidence in the National Assembly because of the way and manner we have been handling issues."
Jega told the legislators that the request he made was in the interest of the nation, because he did not want to be associated with failure, which, he said, was threatening the elections if he was to hold them within the short time available to him and if the January date earlier picked must remain sacrosanct.
He, however, reiterated that should the legislators refuse to accede to his request for more time through the review of the constitution and the Electoral Act, he would make do with the little time at his disposal, but could not give a 100 per cent assurance that everybody would be perfectly pleased with the outcome.
He insisted that his dream for the nation was a flawless election, which, he said, he could only stake his name and reputation on, only if the request for more time was granted by the legislators.
Jega said his request for more time was not an afterthought as many people might want to believe, adding that he knew all along that the commission needed more time but was afraid of requesting for it because of what the people might say.
Towards achieving this, Nafada said the committee would meet with the 36 governors today, to consider the extension request and consider how it would be fast-tracked in conjunction with the 36 speakers of the state houses of assembly.
According to him, "we have asked Professor Jega to come on Wednesday with the details of all his requests, because we might not entertain any request again. After the presentation of all his requests, we would now meet and kick-start the process of amendment again and l believe we would give it a speedy hearing."
Ekweremadu also disclosed that they would later again meet the speakers of the houses of assembly, saying that they were part of the amendment process.
Meanwhile, Professor Jega, on Monday, has said it would take a whole lot of earthquake to take him out of his job and warned those thinking that he would resign to start thinking something different.
This came as he insisted that he had not come to INEC to make money through contracts, adding that he was not a magician, who could perform any magic in the face of the stringent time frame which INEC faced.
Jega, while addressing a press conference at the commission's headquarters, in Abuja, said the electoral body was ready to go ahead with preparations for the conduct of the general election in January if the National Assembly failed to grant the request for the date to be extended to April 2011.
He described himself as "a very positive person," who was optimistic that the federal lawmakers would grant the time shift request but maintained that in case they failed to give a nod to the request, "we may still be lucky to do our job and we may even succeed."
While reacting to a question that the request for the shift of the elections may affect the handover date and work against the plan to dispose of litigation before the swearing-in of the president, the INEC boss said it would be unfortunate if litigation still lingered after the elected president had been sworn in, but argued that it was better to block loopholes that could lead to lots of litigation.
On the issue of a possible shift of the date for swearing-in, Jega said "May 29 is feasible and it is our judgment as a commission not to create more problems for us"
He said those who were not comfortable with the outcome of the competitive bidding process for the procurement of the direct data capturing machines done by the commission were responsible for creating wrong stories about the process.
He debunked the allegation that the companies that won the bidding had backed out, adding that "we have done a credible international bidding process which is fully in compliance with the Nigerian due process law."
Jega said the contract for the machines had been awarded but the document was yet to be signed, as the commission and the contractors were reviewing the draft contract agreement.
"I have never been associated with failure. I have never taken a job I know I can't do. I would not have accepted to be chairman of INEC if I knew I couldn't do the job and having taken it, I am going to give it my best," he said.
Jega added that "whatever we do, let us avoid that argument over elongation of tenure. We don't want any extension that can affect May 29, because we know the problem that it can create.
"We wish to reiterate our belief that the conduct of free, fair and credible elections is a collective charge of all Nigerians, not just INEC.
"While we remain unflinching in the rule and sanctity of law, it is also clear that conducting free, fair and credible elections has become central to securing the future of Nigeria as a nation.
"Given that the constitution and electoral act must remain sacrosanct, there is no point in delivering an electoral process the outcome of which will again be controversial and incredible.
"We request all stakeholders and the Nigerian public to support the relevant organs of government in taking appropriate steps to adjust the existing time frame, so that INEC could give strong guarantees on delivering a flawless voter register, as well as free, fair and credible elections in 2011."
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