2019: Senate backs INEC on early release of elections timetable

The Senate has expressed support for the recently released 2019 elections timetable by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Chairman Senate Committee on INEC, Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South) disclosed this in Abuja on Tuesday while reacting to the development.

The electoral body had last week announced that the 2019 presidential and National Assembly elections would hold on February 16, 2019.

In the same vein, it declared that the governorship and state assembly elections would hold on March 2, 2019.

Ndume commended the Commission  for the initiative, saying this would give it sufficient time to prepare for the exercise.

The lawmaker revealed that during the 2017 budget defence by the Commission, he personally encouraged it to start early preparation for the 2019 polls, adding that he discovered that there was no provision for 2019 elections in the 2017 budget.

He said: “When I took over as the chairman of the Senate Committee on INEC, I personally encouraged INEC to start preparing for the 2019 elections. When I looked at the budget of the INEC, I discovered that there was no provision for the 2019 election. I advised them to make provision for the 2019 election so that such items that are not sensitive and not perishable can be procured in time. It is not good for us to wait until a day or two to the election then we start running helter-skelter for the materials such as the data capture machine or other things that should be in place.

“I personally believe that this INEC wants to improve on what has been done before and all encouragement and support should be given to them.”

He pointed out that the amendment of the Electoral Act in the National Assembly would give the Electoral Reform Committee headed by Ken Nnamani set up by the executive arm of government to come up with acceptable reforms that will take care of some loopholes in elections.

“For the Senate, we only have two clauses left to conclude the amendment of the Electoral Act. We have gone very far. In fact, I can say that I am the one that slowed the committee down because we have to do it together with the House and the executive has formed a Committee under the chairmanship of Ken Nnamani, so let us work together in order to come up with generally acceptable reform that take care of some of the loopholes,” he said.