INEC-Attahiru-Jega Jega laments politics behind election funding

…Assures of credible polls in 2015 FROM IHEANACHO NWOSU, ABUJAChairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, said yesterday that funding of elections in Nigeria is politicised, contrary to what obtains elsewhere. He said the politicisation of funding could be seen in the huge gap between the period of election and the time funds are released by the authorities The INEC boss spoke during a two-day stakeholders’ forum on, “Transparent, credible, free and fair 2015 elections with INEC, the media, civil society, political party chairmen”, organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Government Reforms and Institutions in Abuja. He said “there’s a huge funding gap between the period of election and the time funds are released for election.” Making a comparison with other counties where he said funds are released long before elections are held, Jega observed that in Nigeria, once funds are released, people only talk about the quantum of the money. “Let me give an example. We discovered that we had more than 2,000 offices in various local governments, but most of these offices were on rent. So, we decided to build offices and subsequently asked for funds, but what happened was that in the first year, we got approval to build 75 offices. “But subsequent requests continued to dwindle from 25 approved offices to 10 and even there’s no appropriation for that again in our budget,” he said. Telling Nigerians on what to expect next year, the INEC boss said: “We give assurance that preparations by INEC for the 2015 general elections are proceeding in earnest. “As far as INEC is concerned, the 2015 general elections will see Nigeria take its rightful place in the Comity of Nations where electoral democracy is being consolidated,” he stated. He noted that the commission has learnt from the experiences of 2011 elections and undertaken a fundamental restructuring of its bureaucracy to guide operations. However, he cautioned that conducting credible and fair elections in 2015 would require the collaboration of all stakeholders. According to him, “bringing this about and ensuring free, fair, credible and peaceful elections is not a task that INEC alone can deliver”. Jega pleaded with politicians to stop making unguarded comments even as he implored them to play by the rules of the game. He said: “Our politicians should guide their utterances and play according to the rules of the game.” The INEC boss alleged that there were a lot of breaches of both the electoral and political parties’ rules by politicians. He said that there would be minimal problems arising from the outcome of elections in the country, if politicians comply with the election laws. In his address, the Speaker, Hon Aminu Tambuwal, who was represented by the Minority Whip, Hon. Samson Osagie, said, “although INEC, under Jega has recorded remarkable successes in the handling of elections, there was still room for improvement.” For instance, he said the budget for 2011 general elections was acknowledged to be adequate; the introduction of Direct Data Capturing. Machine for voters registers’ update of eligible voters, timely release of election time-table, recruitment and training of adhoc staff and governments pledge to provide level playing ground for contestants remain some of these achievements by the INEC.