By Ezrel Tabiowo
Abuja
Tough talk it was yesterday when President Muhammadu Buhari’s nominee for the top job of the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu appeared before the Senate, warning that he would not be intimidated by anybody into doing any dirty job as the commission’s boss.
Yakubu, who was full of praises for his predecessor , Professor Mohammed Atahiru Jega, also told politicians in very clear terms that under him, the election will not be won and lost at either the INEC headquarters or the state offices.
These and many more articulated views of the nominee on questions raised by the lawmakers, ultimately got him the Senate’s confirmation as the new INEC chair. Also confirmed were the National Commissioner nominees including; Hajia Amina Zakari(North-west), Mr. Solomon Adedeji Soyebi from Ogun state (South-west), Dr. Anthonia Taiye Okoosi -Simbine from Kogi state representing North-central, Alhaji Baba Shettima Arfo from Borno state representing North-east, and Dr Mohammed Mustapha Lecky from Edo state representing South-south zone.
Buhari had on Wednesday, last week, proposed Yakubu as the new INEC chairman and five others as national commissioners, which was adopted by the National Council of State.
The new INEC boss, a former executive secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), also served as the Assistant Secretary, Finance and Administration of the 2014 National Conference.
Responding to questions asked during his screening, Prof. Yakubu said no person could intimidate him in his duties for the country and vowed to continue with the reforms already introduced to the country’s electoral system.
“I cannot be intimidated in the service of this country, I can’t. It is too late; I have the character, I have the temperament, to do the right thing.”
“Discipline can be instilled in Nigeria’s electoral process if the character of workers that work under you, is a direct reflection of the character of their boss. No election under my watch shall be won
and lost at the INEC headquarters.
“Our mandate is to protect the sanctity of the votes of Nigerians and that we must do. No election shall be won and lost at INEC headquarters as well as the state offices. ”
He regretted that 50 per cent of INEC offices were yet under rent, and canvassed provision of permanent accommodations for all INEC offices, nation-wide, as it would enhance their performance.
Speaking on the need for party candidates to emerge early from credible primaries, the newly confirmed INEC boss, noted that the present time frame between the primaries and main election was ‘short’, and promised consulting with political parties with a view to forwarding bills for necessary amendments to the Electoral Act.
He also spoke on Diaspora voting which is currently not provided for in the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the high cost of obtaining nomination forms from political parties , which he believed made the entire electoral processes capital intensive.
Consequently, he charged the National Assembly to “come up with relevant amendments to the Constitution and the Electoral Acts to mitigate the problems.”
On electronic voting, he said it “is desirable and inevitable” ; urging caution in its application because, “ experience of other nations, means that we have to tread carefully.”
“We are battling with the problem of infrastructure; there must be no room for experimentation; something happened in 2015, we are to consolidate on that; we are going to consider the workability of the technology and consultation with stakeholders.
“With the card readers, we can accredit and vote instantly; Jega has done well, I am not coming in for experimentation, I am coming in for consolidation.”
He also promised correcting observed discrepancies in Voter Cards (VCs) distribution in the 2015 general elections, saying that out of the 70 million registered voters, 56.6 millions VCs were distributed, while 12.3 million were not distributed, and 500,000 were not produced at all.
“I wish to complete this, and then be faced with new ones that have come of voting age; I will ensure that every Nigerian gets the Permanent Voter Card (PVC); life is about learning from experience of the past. 2015 is going to be different from 2019.”
