Nigerian Senate summons Jega over postponement of elections

The Nigerian Senate has summoned the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Attahiru Jega, over the postponement of the country’s general elections.

The Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, raised the motion for Mr. Jega to be invited to explain why the general elections which were scheduled for February were postponed to March and April.

Mr. Jega was also invited to show how cards readers would be used at the elections. The INEC chairman is expected to attend the session with the card readers to prove its efficiency to the lawmakers.

Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress Senators questioned why Mr. Jega’s should be invited.

They contended that the heads of the military should have been invited instead to explain why they would have been unable to provide security on the previous dates scheduled for the elections.

One of the reasons Mr. Jega gave for postponing the elections was that the military said they will not provide security during the polls, as they would be more focused on combating the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East during that period.

The APC senators also kicked against any possible postponement of the elections for a second time.

The Minority Senate Leader, George Akume, during the briefing said he believed that the laws were manipulated. He said Ghana used the card readers, so why not Nigeria.

He also pointed out that Pakistan, Mali and Iraq held elections while at war so Nigeria’s case should not be different especially with 100,000 troops in the Nigerian Army.