Jega bows out of INEC, hands over to Wali

Prof. Attahiru Jega on Tuesday bowed out of office as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission. He handed over to Mohammed Wali, a national commissioner of the INEC from Sokoto State, whose five-year tenure will also expire on August 11, 2015.

Jega was appointed chairman of the commission by former President Goodluck Jonathan on June 30, 2010. He conducted two elections – 2011 and 2015. Speaking briefly at the end of the closed-door handing over ceremony at the Commission in Abuja, Jega said the future of the country and commission was bright.

He said he was grateful to God and the country for the opportunity to serve. He said, “We feel great; we thank God Almighty for the opportunity to serve the country. The future is bright for the commission and the country.” Secretary to the Commission, Mrs. Augusta Ogakwu, confirmed to journalists that Jega handed-over to Wali.

Wali is expected to act pending the appointment of a new chairman by President Muhammadu Buhari. She also added, “We believe we will soon hear what will happen next from the president.”
Ogakwu said, Jega, while handing over, encouraged the commission to keep the flag flying. “Jega said in whatever we have achieved, we should keep it up and do more, adding that there is still a lot to be done,” she said.

Jega left the commission with six national commissioners whose tenures also expired on Tuesday.

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Jega bows out of INEC, hands over to Wali

Prof. Attahiru Jega on Tuesday bowed out of office as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission. He handed over to Mohammed Wali, a national commissioner of the INEC from Sokoto State, whose five-year tenure will also expire on August 11, 2015.

Jega was appointed chairman of the commission by former President Goodluck Jonathan on June 30, 2010. He conducted two elections – 2011 and 2015. Speaking briefly at the end of the closed-door handing over ceremony at the Commission in Abuja, Jega said the future of the country and commission was bright.

He said he was grateful to God and the country for the opportunity to serve. He said, “We feel great; we thank God Almighty for the opportunity to serve the country. The future is bright for the commission and the country.” Secretary to the Commission, Mrs. Augusta Ogakwu, confirmed to journalists that Jega handed-over to Wali.

Wali is expected to act pending the appointment of a new chairman by President Muhammadu Buhari. She also added, “We believe we will soon hear what will happen next from the president.”
Ogakwu said, Jega, while handing over, encouraged the commission to keep the flag flying. “Jega said in whatever we have achieved, we should keep it up and do more, adding that there is still a lot to be done,” she said.

Jega left the commission with six national commissioners whose tenures also expired on Tuesday.

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My regret as INEC chairman – Jega

The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, on Monday reviewed his tenure as the boss of the electoral body and concluded that his only regret was his inability to create a separate salary structure for INEC workers. Jega spoke in Abuja during a retreat organised for the electoral officers of the commission where the report of the 2015 elections was reviewed.

The retreat was titled, “2015 general elections: Lessons and the way forward.” Jega also said that members of staff of the commission were subjected to difficult circumstances during the 2015 elections. He said apart from the special salary issue, the commission under his leadership performed well.

But he regretted that despite the undertaking he said he made when he assumed office on the need to create a special salary structure for the members of staff of the commission, he was unable to accomplish that up till now.

He said, “We have done our best as a commission under very difficult circumstances and the major regret as I have always acknowledged is that a major undertaking we made when we first resumed at the commission is to have a separate salary structure for the members of staff of the commission but we have not been able to achieve this

“And obviously this is one area where we still have to do a lot of work and put in a lot of efforts as we move towards the future and to improve.

“But apart from that, I don’t think we have done badly in terms of promoting the welfare and the wellbeing of the members of staff.

“We have ensured that salaries were paid regularly, we have ensured that there are a lot of opportunities for self improvement through the organisation of seminar and workshop with our partners.”

He said he was aware that there was no way the commission could satisfy everyone, saying that some were not happy when the commission redeployed some of its members of staff. He said, “Again as I said, we could not have satisfied the expectations of everybody, we believe that we have done our best. I must say that not all of you are happy with some of the measures that we have introduced as a commission.

“The restructuring and reorganisation certainly could not have satisfied everybody because it required trimming down the size of the commission and also redefining schedule of responsibilities and putting square pegs in square holes as we called it at that time.”

Jega, who had insisted that he would leave INEC after the expiration of his tenure, said that the 2015 general elections were better than those of 2011. But he added that there was a lot of room for improvement and that as the country prepares for future elections, the commission must begin to reflect on what areas of further reforms it should focus its attention on.

Jega also urged members of staff of the commission not to be carried away by the accolades showered on them because of the successful conduct of the 2015 general elections but they should work towards improved performance in 2019.

-Punch

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My regret as INEC chairman – Jega

The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, on Monday reviewed his tenure as the boss of the electoral body and concluded that his only regret was his inability to create a separate salary structure for INEC workers. Jega spoke in Abuja during a retreat organised for the electoral officers of the commission where the report of the 2015 elections was reviewed.

The retreat was titled, “2015 general elections: Lessons and the way forward.” Jega also said that members of staff of the commission were subjected to difficult circumstances during the 2015 elections. He said apart from the special salary issue, the commission under his leadership performed well.

But he regretted that despite the undertaking he said he made when he assumed office on the need to create a special salary structure for the members of staff of the commission, he was unable to accomplish that up till now.

He said, “We have done our best as a commission under very difficult circumstances and the major regret as I have always acknowledged is that a major undertaking we made when we first resumed at the commission is to have a separate salary structure for the members of staff of the commission but we have not been able to achieve this

“And obviously this is one area where we still have to do a lot of work and put in a lot of efforts as we move towards the future and to improve.

“But apart from that, I don’t think we have done badly in terms of promoting the welfare and the wellbeing of the members of staff.

“We have ensured that salaries were paid regularly, we have ensured that there are a lot of opportunities for self improvement through the organisation of seminar and workshop with our partners.”

He said he was aware that there was no way the commission could satisfy everyone, saying that some were not happy when the commission redeployed some of its members of staff. He said, “Again as I said, we could not have satisfied the expectations of everybody, we believe that we have done our best. I must say that not all of you are happy with some of the measures that we have introduced as a commission.

“The restructuring and reorganisation certainly could not have satisfied everybody because it required trimming down the size of the commission and also redefining schedule of responsibilities and putting square pegs in square holes as we called it at that time.”

Jega, who had insisted that he would leave INEC after the expiration of his tenure, said that the 2015 general elections were better than those of 2011. But he added that there was a lot of room for improvement and that as the country prepares for future elections, the commission must begin to reflect on what areas of further reforms it should focus its attention on.

Jega also urged members of staff of the commission not to be carried away by the accolades showered on them because of the successful conduct of the 2015 general elections but they should work towards improved performance in 2019.

-Punch

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Presidential run-off would have led to crisis –Jega

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, said on Tuesday that a presidential run-off would have led to a crisis in the country. Jega, in his first public comment on the March 28 and April elections, predicated his assertion on what he called many lacunas in the amended Electoral Act. He suggested during a dialogue session with the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room in Abuja, an amendment to the electoral law since it provides for only seven days after the first election to hold a run-off.

He said the incoming administration of Muhammadu Buhari should not wait till 2019 general elections before reviewing the Electoral Act. Jega disclosed that he was happy when the March 28 presidential poll produced a clear winner. He said there was no way that INEC could have successfully conducted a run-off election within seven days as provided for in both the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act.

The INEC boss said, “I heaved a heavy sigh of relief when the election did not result to a run-off. That would have occasioned a big constitutional crisis. “This is in view of the fact that the 1999 Constitution only made provision for seven days for such poll. You and I know that there was no way we would have been able to conduct a run-off within seven days. “This is why I emphasise that amendments to the electoral laws should be done in good time. We could have further sanitised the electoral process if we had got some of the amendments we required in the Electoral Act.”

The INEC boss revealed that there would be electoral reforms to strike a balance between decentralising and centralising the powers of the commission at the national headquarters. He explained, “In future reforms to electoral legal framework this issue has to be looked at carefully. It’s a delicate balance: you have to balance whether you will give the chairman of INEC or the INEC at the headquarters a lot of powers which may be abused or whether you will want to localise the powers which may also be abused. So, it’s a tricky balance and the balance has to be struck.

“Clearly, from our experience in 2007, a lot of the powers were removed from the INEC national officers and localised to the Returning Officers. And now, we are seeing the challenges and some abuses in some respects. So, in future, as we review the Electoral Act, we may have to look at how to have some balance in this regard.

“Sometimes, when we hear something and a mistake is likely to be made, we can intervene and advise the Returning Officer about the right thing to do. Sometimes some of the Returning Officers, if they are confused and do not understand what they are supposed to do, they can call us directly and seek for clarification. There are a few cases a Returning Officer may just go ahead and do his own thing either based on lack of understanding or because of some partisan considerations.

“There are many Returning Officers for example in some states where they disappeared with the result sheets. And we have got information about these people and we are going to follow it up in terms of not only reporting them to their institutions but also prosecuting them appropriately for the offences they committed.”

_Punch

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