Some members of the Senate and House of Representatives on Monday disagreed on the decision by the Independent National Electoral Commission to seek time extension for the 2011 elections.



The senators, who spoke separately on the issue with our correspondents, were the Chairman, Senate Committee on Information and Media, Chief Ayogu Eze; and the Deputy Leader of the Senate, Mr. Victor Ndoma-Egba.



The House members were the Minority Whip , Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila; the Deputy Chairman, Committee on Ethics and Privileges, Mr. John Kalipa; and the Deputy Chairman, Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Labaran Dambatta.



While the senators said that only Nigerians were in a position to decide on time extension, Gbajabiamila, Kalipa and Dambatta said the House would consider any request for such (time extension) by INEC.



INEC had in a statement after its two-day retreat in Calabar, Cross River State, on Sunday, noted that the timeline for the implementation of voter registration and the general elections was too tight.



According to the timetable released by INEC two weeks ago, political parties are to conduct their primaries from September 11 to October 30, 2010. The registration of voters will take place between November 1 and 14. The first set of elections is scheduled to begin on January 14, 2011.



But Eze, in an interview with one of our correspondents, said that time extension would not be decided by the National Assembly but by Nigerians.



Stating that INEC had not forwarded a request for time extension to the Senate, the Senate spokesman said that the request (time extension) would require the alteration of the 1999 Constitution and the 2010 Electoral Act.



“I think we should wait for INEC to formally make its request; we can then begin to consider it from there on its merit,” he said.



On his part, Ndoma-Egba, who is also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said that INEC was not likely to get the support of the National Assembly.



He explained that the issue of time extension would mean that the 2010 Electoral Act and the amended 1999 Constitution would require another alteration.



Ndoma-Egba said, “The timelines are embedded in the constitution and the Electoral Act 2010. It is unlikely that the extension will be possible because members will be having their primaries in a number of days from now.



“If most members don’t get their tickets to return to the National Assembly, you may not have them around after the primaries and you know that to amend the law, a two-thirds majority is required.”



He advised that instead of asking for time extension, INEC should do all within its powers to keep up with the timeframe provided by the law.



“I advise that INEC should go round the time frame that they have now to ensure that the elections are held,” he said.



Gbajabiamila, Kalipa and Dambatta, who also admitted that the new electoral Act and the 1999 Constitution would be amended to accommodate the time extension, said they were optimistic that the House would grant the request.



The three officers of the House of Representatives, also said that the May 29 handover date must be sacrosanct.



Gbajabiamila said that every member of the National Assembly seeking a free and fair election should be able to support the move.



Dambatta said, “Both the 1999 Constitution (First Amendment) and the new Electoral Act specify the number of days elections must be conducted before the inauguration of a new administration.



“So, for us, the amendment should not be a problem, especially if it will lead to credible, free and fair elections.”



Kalipa also said that the House was ready to amend the relevant laws if INEC forwarded a proposal to it.



Kalipa, a lawyer, suggested two options. One, according to him, was for the National Assembly to make a law suspending the current provision on election dates to allow INEC conduct the poll on dates convenient to it (INEC).



The second option, he said, was to go for a wholesale amendment of the provision.



Kalipa said, “In this case, we have to go through the whole process of constitutional amendment again by involving the state assemblies; same for the Electoral Act 2010.



“In whichever way we want to do it, an extension of time must involve changes in our laws.”



The plan by INEC to seek an extension was also supported by the Peoples Democratic Party, the Action Congress of Nigeria and the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties.



In different comments by their National Publicity Secretaries — Prof Rufai Alkali(PDP), Alhaji Lai Mohammed (ACN) and Mr. Osita Okechukwu (CNPP) — they described the decision by the electoral body as a timely one.



Alkali, in an interview with one of our correspondents, said that the PDP believed that there was nothing wrong in the decision by INEC to request for the extension of time.



He said that if the request was granted, the PDP would have enough time to campaign.



He said, “Though the party observed that the timetable released by INEC was tight and difficult to follow, it kept quiet so as to avoid being accused of pursuing a third term agenda, but now that the electoral umpire has come out to say it, we will support whatever INEC says.”



The ACN expressed its delight that INEC had finally listened to the voice of reason, especially as there was no way it could adequately prepare for the elections in January.



It, therefore, renewed its call on the National Assembly to suspend the amended constitution so that the commission could have more time to get a new voter register ready.



It said, “For example, by the Action Plan, it would take all of 190 days, starting from August 26, 2010 to be ready for the elections, which means the earliest time it would be ready.



“We must not allow N87bn to go down the drain just because we want to organise elections in January, a date that INEC had to choose just to comply with the law, rather than with reality.”



On its part, the CNPP described INEC’s request for extension of time as genuine and legitimate, adding that in order to get it right this time, it was crucial that the proposal be approved.



The CNPP said, “We had earlier in league with all patriots, the clergy, professional bodies and civil society organisations endorsed the national consensus, which canvassed for an extension of time without prejudice to May 29, to enable the new INEC leadership to do a thorough job.”



When asked if the request for time extension had been forwarded to the National Assembly, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, said the commission was still consulting.



He, however, explained that his principal, Prof. Attahiru Jega, had not said elections were not possible in January.



Idowu said, “My boss has said it severally that we can still conduct an election in January 2011 but that if given more time, we can do a better job considering the enormous task ahead.



“As part of our consultations, the Commission is meeting with the leadership of political parties on Tuesday (today) to iron out these issues.”


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201009211574123

This INEC guys should respect themselves and conduct the elections as prescribed by the ACT.JEGA should not seek for excuses.The time left is sufficient to hold 20 different elections!