Polls: I’m confident Jega ‘ll deliver –Jonathan

Posted by admin Elections 2011, INEC Politics, Latest Politics Wednesday, April 6th, 2011

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday said he was confident the Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega will deliver a free, fair and credible elections despite the botched last Saturday’s National Assembly elections.
Jonathan, while fielding questions from newsmen at a photo exhibition in his honour at the Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, said Jega had his support and the president was optimistic that Nigeria would get it right by conducting credible, free, fair elections.

“Jega has my full support, the day I no longer support him I will of course raise the process of removing him. You know that of course, if he is no longer performing well, I will communicate to the National Assembly to terminate his appointment. Until I do that, I am fully in his support and I know that he will do well,” he said.
The President said the postponement of last Saturday’s parliamentary elections by INEC demonstrated “that the country and the electoral body is totally committed to ensure that they conduct credible elections.”.

President Jonathan said INEC had the alternative of going ahead with last saturday’s polls without the results sheets and enter the results later at the collation centres, but they declined.
“What arrived late was the results sheets. The results sheet could have been distributed that night to everybody or probably late in the night, they could have entered the results. That would have meant that, at the polling units, probably they would have taken the materials to the collation centres where they would have entered the results and that is what we are against, that is what INEC is against.

“We want to make sure that all results are entered there at the polling units and distributed to all the agents of the political parties and the candidates. So, if INEC wanted to conduct elections that could have been queried, it could have gone ahead to conduct the elections.
“What happened is another demonstration that the country and the electoral body is totally committed to ensuring that they conduct credible elections,” Jonathan said.

The President appealed to Nigerians not to be discouraged over the development but see it as a sacrifice for the country. “It is a sacrifice that all of us are paying. I was also in the village but I have to come back.
“We really regret what happened. A number of people spent money to go to their homes to vote unfortunately it was cancelled,” he said.

President Jonathan urged Nigerians to go out in their numbers to cast their votes in all the elections assuring that their votes would count.
Earlier, the President had commended the photo exhibitor for the sacrifice he made in going round with him to document all his campaign tour.

The exhibition displayed over 50 photographs of Jonathan during his campaign tour of the country.
The exhibitor, a former Reuters Photographer, Mr George Esiri said he was compelled to document the photographs for posterity.

-Sunwp_posts