Prof. Yakubu
THE Senate has confirmed the nomination of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu as Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Chairman.
It also confirmed the nomination of Mr.
Solomon Adedeji Soyebi (Southwest); Dr. Mohammed Mustapha Lecky
(Southsouth), Hajia Amina Zakari (Northwest) Dr. Antonia Taiye Okoosi
Simbine (Northcentral) and Alhaji Baba Shettima Arfo (Northeast) as
national commissioners.
President Muhammadu Buhari asked the
Senate to confirm them in accordance with Section 154(1) of the 1999
Constitution (as amended).
At their screening yesterday, Minority
Leader Senator Godswill Akpabio asked Yakubu to reassure Nigerians that
he would be fair.
Yakubu said: “I cannot be intimidated.
It is too late for me to be intimidated in anything in this country. I
have the character to do the right thing. Secondly, in the course of my
public service, I have received many accolades, including eight honorary
doctorate degrees with none from my state. I have reconciled myself to
the service of Nigeria.”
Asked by Majority Leader Ali Ndume how
he will address late arrival of election materials, Yakubu said early
preparation for election was important.
The country, he said, should do away with the fire-brigade mentality in the conduct of elections.
He said the 12.3 million permanent voter
cards (PVCs) that were not distributed before the 2015 general
elections would be circulated next year.
He added that 70 million voters were registered, 56.6 million PVCs were distributed and 500,000 PVCs were not printed.
Yakubu said INEC would improve on the registration and distribution of PVCs.
On electronic voting, he said one day the country would embrace electronic voting.
He, however, cautioned that the country
should tread cautiously, taking cognisance of the experience of other
countries that embraced electronic voting without proper planning.
The country was still grappling with the problem of infrastructure and should not rush into electronic voting, he said.
He noted that great improvement was made in 2015 elections that INEC should continue to consolidate on.
On the use of card readers, he said anything not tested would pose some challenge.
He assured that whatever challenges discovered with the use of the card readers would be improved upon.
On the reforms he intended to bring,
Yakubu hailed his predecessor, Prof. Attahiru Jega, for doing a great
work in the commission.
He said whatever is in INEC required consolidation and improvement for better performance.
Yakubu described diaspora voting as desirable.
He added, however, that fundamental
reforms needed to be made, including constitution review of relevant
sections before Diaspora voting could be done.
The INEC chairman-designate assured that “never again will elections be won or lost at INEC headquarters”.
Those who want to win election, he said, must go to the field because elections will be won or lost at the polling booths.
Soyebi, who answered questions on electronic voting, told the Senate that most of the operations of INEC have gone electronic.
He noted that the only thing left is electronic voting.
Soyebi said: “Whether we like it or not,
technology is here with us. I will strongly suggest we go the whole hug
and do electronic voting.”
On the problems associated with the card readers, he said the technology was used for the first time in the country in 2015.
Lecky promised to work with other commissioners to ensure that INEC adhered to electoral best practices at all times.
He said card readers should be extended
to all elections, adding that INEC should improve on electoral
transparency and electoral violence.
Mrs. Zakari told the Senate that she had
been part of the reform process in the commission, explaining that she
is also aware of what needed to be further reformed.
She noted that the public understanding of the electoral process was important.
Mrs. Zakari stressed the need for improvement in external and internal communication of the commission.
Simbine said if confirmed, she would be unbiased in the course of her functions.
Shettima said the commission would continue to create a level-playing field for all players in the electoral field.