Nigerians abroad score INEC high

Nigerians living in South Africa on Sunday scored the conduct of Saturday’s National Assembly election high, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) has reported.

General Manager, Africa, Hay Group, based in Johannesburg Mr Gbenga Odusanya said the conduct of the elections showed that the country was putting the days of election rigging behind it.

He said: “We seem to be entering a new phase and politicians will begin to come to terms with the fact that the days of rigging elections in Nigeria are being done away with.

Odusanya said INEC’s adoption of the Modified Option A4 was an indication of its determination to ensure transparency in the polls.

INEC to deploy 12,000 more machines

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is planning to deploy extra 12,000 Direct Data Capture machines to help deal with queues of prospective voters as it battles to meet the January 29 deadline for the voter's registration.

The commission seems to be gradually easing the fingerprinting failure that hit the exercise in its first four days, but massive files of registrants across the nation which rose as the electoral body struggled to fix the scanning problem now threaten the two-week deadline.

At many booths in the Federal Capital Territory, for instance, more number of registrants and field officials confirmed to NEXT yesterday that for the first time, people spent averagely 10 minutes at the polling units at the commission earlier billed.

However, the feat was achieved at the cost of arriving polling units as early as 5a.m in the hope of beating queues that, at some places, are in several hundreds of persons, they said.

"I came yesterday and wrote my number, 136, and today I came here 5.30am, but as others wrote their names, the list got missing and we had to form a new line and I became number 2," Jimoh Adejoh, a resident of Kubwa, said early Wednesday.

Although the commission targeted an average of 48 persons at eight working hours a day, it mandated its Registration Officers to attend to those who arrive at the line until 5pm each day, according to officials.

Improved process

But residents say the order is hardly carried out as some of the officers turn them back once the list for the day exceeds 100, at times as early as 8am. But those who have eventually registered say the process has sped up, allowing people to spend averagely 10 minutes at the points.

The commission acknowledging the reports, said the difference, although with some lingering technical challenges, point to a determination to get all qualified Nigerians registered.

"The mere fact that there is an improvement is a testimony to the commitment of INEC to getting every Nigerian who wants to be registered, registered," said Kayode Idowu, the media assistant to the chairman, Attahiru Jega.

Mr. Idowu dispelled the fear that the commission may fail to meet its 70 million voter's target with the slow start and the overwhelming queues nationwide.

He said the electoral body is preparing an emergency plan that may involve the deployment of the 10% redundant machines ordered, amounting to 12,000 to the areas that will be of utmost demand.

"We have 120,000 polling units across the country, but we ordered 132,000 machines, with a 10% extra which we can now use for this kind of challenge," he further said.

The commission said it is still confident to meet the two weeks allotted to the exercise, maintaining an earlier position that it is too early to consider an extension.

‘Don’t politicise data capturing machines theft’

The recent theft of data capturing machines imported by the Independent National Electoral Commission at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos is an internal security issue that should not be politicised, the minister for defense, Adetokunbo Kayode, said at the weekend. Mr. Kayode, who told reporters in Akure that those who stole the machines were petty thieves, said the government was doing everything to address the internal security at various airports and warned authorities of the airports to brace up.

“Internal security is one of the biggest challenges we have in this country,” he said. “That is why we have not left everything to the police alone. Mr. President has directed all the armed forces to support the police to ensure that our internal democracy is stabilized. Theft in any airport is normal, but it is not acceptable. What happened was that some petty criminals stole some computers. Though they have all been arrested, it just showed that it is not uncommon. Many times you travel outside the country and you discover that your bag is missing. In fact, some airports are even worse. You have to hold on to your trousers because before you know it your trouser is gone.”

On the forthcoming primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Kayode said the party was ready to field the best candidates and would allow for internal democracy where a level playing field would be provided for all the aspirants. He, however, said all the political parties in the country are facing challenges of internal democracy.

“The smaller parties are worse than the PDP when it comes to internal democracy,” he said. “Internal democracy is a challenge to all political parties. It will be foolish for any party to think that it is only PDP that has the problem of internal democracy. The PDP is huge and has bigger challenges than all these small parties. The small parties that control two or three states are not better than the PDP in terms of internal democracy. What is presently happening in the folds of the Action Congress of Nigeria in Lagos state is a good example. There were protests because some people said they were being sidelined.”

The minister who called for support for the candidacy of President Goodluck Jonathan, said the people of Ondo state would support his candidacy because he offered the best credentials among those jostling for the position.

“The voting pattern in Ondo state has always remained the same,” he said. “When it comes to a presidential candidate, we always go the same way without party affiliation. I am very sure that those in the Labour Party and other political parties in the state will support President