As he prepares to leave office next month as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, after conducting the 2015 general elections, Prof. Attahiru Jega, has expressed worry that the achievements recorded so far by the commission may not be consolidated by his successor.
Jega said INEC had done well in restructuring the electoral process in Nigeria, but noted that it would be very easy for what had been achieved to be reversed by the incoming members if the country got it wrong on the new leadership.
To this end, he has tasked Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, to play a watchdog role in the INEC with a view to putting those that would be at the helm of affairs of the commission, on their toes.
Speaking yesterday, in Abuja, at the presentation of the 2015 general election observation report carried out by Election Monitor, a civil society group, supported by McArthur Foundation, the INEC chairman insisted that for his achievements to be consolidated, his policies and programmes aimed at repositioning the country’s electoral process must be maintained.
Represented by the commission’s, Director, Elections and Party Monitoring, Mr. Sheu Wahab, the INEC chairman stressed that: “We need to continue to beam the searchlight on post election events, and the first thing that will come to your mind is the reconstitution of new INEC.
“Jega’s commission will be winding up by the end of June, a new commission is going to be put in place. If we are going to consolidate on the gains of 2015 elections, I think CSOs have every reason to watch out for the new commission that is going to come in place,” he stated.
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