The Independent National Electoral Commission says it is
standing by its decision to hold the 2019 presidential and National Assembly
elections on the same day while the governorship and state legislative
elections will come next.
The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said this at the
quarterly consultative meeting with the media in Abuja on Monday.
INEC had announced last year that the presidential and National
Assembly elections would hold on February 16, 2019 while the governorship, state
assembly and area council elections in the Federal Capital Territory would take
place on March 2, 2019.
The National Assembly, however, opposed the sequence of the
election and amended the Electoral Act such that the National Assembly election
would hold first while the presidential election would come last.
The bill has since been transmitted to President Muhammadu
Buhari for assent.
However, the INEC boss said the commission would continue to
prepare for elections based on its own schedule since it could not make plans
based on speculation.
When asked if the electoral body would challenge the matter in
court, the INEC boss said when the time comes the commission would take a
decision.
Yakubu said, “There are many ‘ifs’ but here, we deal with
certainty. As far as the commission is concerned, there is no legal lacuna at
the moment. What we have done is on the basis of the existing law and nothing
has changed.
“If the bill is accented to, we will look at the provisions and
inform Nigerians on the next step. But as far as the commission is concerned at
the moment, we are operating under the existing law and we have issued a
timetable for the activities accordingly.
“If something happens tomorrow, we will examine it and proceed
accordingly.”
The INEC boss said the budget for the 2019 elections had been
drafted based on its own sequence and timetable.
He said the proposal would soon be transmitted to the National
Assembly for approval.
“Right now, the draft is on my table based on the current
schedule of activities. Thereafter, we will submit it to the approving
authorities,” Yakubu said.
When asked what had happened to the 205 INEC officials that were
suspended after being indicted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
for allegedly receiving bribes during the 2015 elections, Yakubu said he was
still waiting for the EFCC to take action.
He noted that most of the officials had not been prosecuted by
the anti-graft agency, adding that he had written to the EFCC to act quickly.
Yakubu added, “The interdiction (of 205 officials) was based on
the interim report we received from the EFCC. An interdicted person is placed
on half pay until the person’s innocence or guilt is established.”
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