Jega Defends Choice Of Dates For 2015 General Elections

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, has defended the choice of February as the month for the 2015 general elections.

Addressing participants at a meeting of broadcast media houses, ahead of the elections, Jega said the choice of February was a rational decision to allow for litigations by candidates in the elections.

He said the allegation that INEC changed the sequence of the elections were untrue, insisting that such allegations will not influence the decision of the electoral body.

“INEC’s choice of those dates was informed by purely rational and logical considerations. We did not fix these dates to the advantage of one group or the disadvantage of another,” Prof. Jega told the participants at the forum.

Also speaking at the forum was the former Secretary of the electoral body, Mr Baba Ahmed, who blamed the media for being a part of the (electoral) problem.

“The media reflects the society but we have our own interests,” Mr Ahmed said.

He said: “The biggest problem for the Nigerian media as far as covering elections is concerned, is that they don’t have a defined role. They can’t operate outside the interest of those who own them.  If you want them to operate better, address the dependence of the media on narrow interests that exist in this country”.

The forum, which had in attendance, broadcasters, media executives and politicians, was convened to brainstorm on the role of the media in ensuring a successful, free and fair general elections in 2015.

Media practitioners led by the Chairman of Channels Television, Mr John Momoh, defended the role of broadcast journalists and listed issues that must be tackled before the general elections.

Mr Momoh called on INEC to understand that there would be need for implosion of information, stressing the need for the electoral body to have a regular briefing on a daily or weekly basis prior to the elections.

He berated the fact that “journalists are attacked  (everyday) for doing their jobs” and strongly stressed the need for journalists to be protected during the next general elections.

Channels Television’s Omelogo Nnadi reports that the rules of the game are clear, these key players say. “What is left is for stakeholders to play their part; be it politicians, the electoral body, the regulators or even the media, as many Nigerians expect the 2015 general elections to be an improvement over the past election and be free, fair and credible,” she says.