Jega, who said he is ready to defend all the actions he has taken as INEC Chairman lamented that a lot of controversies is being deliberately created out of the issue.
His words: "It is true that we had challenges with the contract for production of the presidential ballot papers.
Prof. Attahiru Jega, INEC chairman.
"We identified one of the best companies in the world and gave them the contract for the presidential ballot papers-both presidential main and presidential rerun because we believe that they could deliver and we had all the assurances that they could deliver.
"And they went and started to deliver and we changed some of the security features that we wanted on the presidential ballot papers.
"Although, they assured us that they could do that, but subsequently, they said they couldn't. And they brought another company another company in South Africa that said it could do it, and eventually, the company is South Africa that said they could do it came back to say they cannot meet the deadline that wanted for the election.
"So, we had to cancel the contract for the presidential main. And because we cancelled the contract for the presidential main, obviously, they were able to produce and supply the one for the re-run, but we had to have the one for the presidential main done by another company.
Jega attributed the controversies over the issue and insinuations that he is working for some presidential candidates as an "insult".
The Chairman of INEC accused some politicians with vested interests in the matter and those who want to portray the Commission as incapable of being the brains behind the story.
"Some people knew this and those who know this and want to create further confusion and create impression that everything is wrong and INEC cannot do this job were now going and making it to appear as if we deliberately gave the contract for the re-run as if we want the re-run to take place which really is not true.
"Every election body, when they conduct elections, must print the ballot for the main and the re-run, because you don't want a situation that if it becomes necessary to have a rerun, you don't go running helter- skelter to print ballot papers.
"We can defend everything we have done. We are prepared to defend ourselves, everything we have done as a commission, because we know everything that we have done, we have done it honestly and sincerely; we have not been partial to anybody.
"Some of the reports are trying to project as if some of us are partisan, as if some of us are working for some candidates.
"I feel terribly insulted and many of us feel insulted, people who know us and know our reputations know that there is no way we can bring partisanship to this job that we are doing, people are talking of meetings which never happened.
"They are concocting stories and saying we have held meetings with political parties because in our country everybody is looked at from the prism of religion or prism of ethnicity, nobody is ever given a chance.
Professor Jega also assured that all the materials for the presidential elections are now ready.
" I want to assure you that by next Saturday when we hold the presidential election, the question of inadequacy of materials will not arise. We are fully in possession of all the materials that we need for the presidential elections", he told journalists.
Source: Click the link below»
http://pmnewsnigeria.com/2011/04/10/we-are-ready-for-presidential-election-says-jega/
No comments:
Post a Comment