Jega: I won’t go on terminal leave

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Professor Attahiru Jega yesterday said he would not proceed on terminal leave as being demanded in some quarters.“I have a job to do until April 11th. No sensible person, in my view, that is holding this sensible job, like the one I am doing, will contemplate dropping […]

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Professor Attahiru Jega yesterday said he would not proceed on terminal leave as being demanded in some quarters.
“I have a job to do until April 11th. No sensible person, in my view, that is holding this sensible job, like the one I am doing, will contemplate dropping everything and go on leave before it is concluded”.
The INEC chairman was responding to questions at a roundtable programme in Abuja, organised by thReinvent Media Limited, with the support of the Ford Foundation and the Kukah Foundation in collaboration with Channels Television and WE FM.
“Yes, there have been all sorts of demands for my resignation. As far as I am concerned, I have a job to do and I have remained focused to do it.
“I am not under any pressure and I believe that it would be a disservice to this country at this point in time to say I am resigning when I have absolutely no reason to resign.
“A terminal leave is an option that before you disengage finally, you are given a grace period if you would like to go on leave.
“Really, for me is not an option and nobody has asked me or is asking me to go on terminal leave. I only read, like everybody, what is being said in the newspapers.
“Let’s remain focused. We have a job to do; we are determined to do the best election in this country,” he said.
On concerns that some politicians are currently bent on coming up with a devise to jam the card readers on the Election Day, Jega said INEC had thought of all the possible drawbacks to the card readers and was adequately prepared against such plans.
He said: “People who want to disrupt the process can do any conceivable thing. We are working under the assumption that we anticipate the challenges and we are prepared.
“We have anticipated the possibility of jamming and we have already taken measures on how to deal with it”.   
On the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), he said outstanding 700,000 PVCs would be delivered by Saturday at the affected polling units.
On the security situation, he said while he was not the appropriate person to speak on the matter, he would note that the situation was much better than before the polls postponement.
He said INEC had utilised the six weeks delay in the election to perfect its preparedness.
Commenting on a court order to register Young Democratic Party (YDP) as a political party Jega said: “We did not register them because we believed that we have sufficient legal grounds not to register them.
“We have since instructed our lawyers to appeal that judgment. To my mind and from the best legal advice that we have received as a commission, that case would have no impact on the conduct of the 2015 elections,” he said.
The townhall meeting was moderated by Kadaria Ahmed and Mercy Abang.