No plans to stagger 2015 elections -- INEC

Lagos – Dr Adekunle Ogunmola, the Resident
Electoral Commissioner of INEC, Lagos State, on
Wednesday, said the commission would not stagger
the 2015 general elections to avoid the problems
encountered in Anambra.
In an interview Ogunmola said that the problem
associated with that election was a blessing in
disguise.
The INEC boss was reacting to calls by some
sections of the society to stagger the 2015
elections.
“We are not staggering elections in 2015; having
problems in Anambra does not mean that we will
not be able to handle the 36 states of the federation
plus the FCT.
“In fact, it is going to be a lot easier for us. But, I
want to say that I see the problem associated with
Anambra election as a blessing in disguise because
we were thinking that it was going to be error-proof.
“And that would have made us to be a little bit
complacent, thinking that everything is okay.
“We see this as an eye opener and it has compelled
us to crosscheck our crossed T’s and dotted I’s
again.
“Beyond that, we need to also point out that there is
the problem of the people, who constitute electorate,
being nonchalant about checking their names during
display.’’
On voter register, Ogunmola said that the
commission had commenced de-duplication of
double registrants ahead of 2015.
He disclosed that the number of registered voters in
Lagos would drop.
“The figure for Lagos is going to drop because
double registration will be removed and when we
display, people will now be able to see whether their
names are still there or not,’’ he said.
Ogunmola gave the electorate the assurance that
continuous voter registration would afford them the
opportunity to register so that their data would be
recorded.
He said those who registered twice following the
commission’s own instructions to them would not
be penalised and would be given the opportunity of
registering normally so as to capture their full
details.
On voter apathy, the commissioner argued that it
would not solely be the responsibility of INEC to
remove apathy as witnessed in Anambra.
“The contestants and the parties are the ones
looking for votes, so they should also be involved in
mobilising people for election,’’ he said.
Ogunmola however gave the commission’s to do its
best noting that “most of the funds we demand for
election are spent on training and educating our
officers on how to enlighten the people’’.
“That is why I do not blame people that are
complaining about the amount INEC estimated for
2015 election because they have little knowledge
about its operations.’’ he said (NAN)