John Igbodero, Emmanuel Aziken & Ayodele Adegboji
25 May 2006
Calabar — THE first round of the much expected 2007 elections will be held on Saturday, April 7, the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) announced yesterday. The last round of the election will be conducted on April 29.
Chairman of INEC, Professor Maurice Iwu, said at the close of a three-day retreat organised by the commission in Calabar that INEC was ready for the election even if they were to be held now.
However, the Senate yesterday again refused to bar INEC from the use of the controversial Electronic Voting System (EVS) for future elections just as it recovered the missing pages of the report of its Committee on the Senator Ibrahim Mantu affair.
"If the constitution had been amended, we would have been ready for the elections. However, the 2007 elections would hold from April 7 to April 29, 2007," Prof. Iwu said at the Calabar retreat.
Thirty seven parties, he said, had been registered by the Commission, with "two new parties, the DPP and PPA, registered last week."
He explained that more parties were likely to be registered "because we want to open up the political space."
He argued that with more parties, all shades of political orientation would find expression and there would be no need for people to resort to unconstitutional means to seek power.
Prof . Iwu explained that for an election to be successful, there must be a good voter's register "that is robust and durable," adding that the 2007 election voter's register would feature an electronic database.
According to him, a voter's card would have a voter's photograph in a device he described as Direct Capture so that it will be impossible for voters to duplicate fingerprints. He said the Commission in 2007 would minimize the period between the casting of votes and the announcement of results.
"We are also set to tackle thematic issues that surround the environment of elections, issues like electoral violence."
He said Dr. Festus Iyayi's paper on electoral mind-sets which was presented during the retreat was of great relevance to the issue at hand as it would enable Nigerians to do away with counter-productive electoral mind-sets.
While calling on Nigerians to co-operate with INEC towards a free and fair election, he said there was the need to encourage the womenfolk to run for political offices.
Senate refuses to bar INEC on EVS
The Senate yesterday rejected a move to bar the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from using the Electronic Voting System (EVS) for future elections just as it recovered the missing pages of the report of its Committee on Ethics on the Senator Ibrahim Mantu affair.
The missing pages which re-appeared in the report of the Committee on Ethics circulated to Senators yesterday included the findings of the Committee which showed discrepancies in the ownership of the official residential accommodation of Mantu, the deputy president of the Senate.
The motion seeking to bar INEC from using the Electronic Voting System (EVS) was moved by Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora (AD, Lagos East). He told the Senate that despite the decision of the House of Representatives to bar INEC from using the EVS that INEC Chairman has continued to indicate his readiness to run the next round of elections on the EVS.
"In spite of this, the INEC Chairman has continued to grant interviews and make pronouncements suggesting unyielding commitment to the use of Electronic Voting System for 2007 elections," Senator Mamora said.
Besides, he said inefficiencies and the realities on ground showed that the system could not work in the country as he prayed the Senate to caution the INEC chairman from further comments on the issue.
He was immediately challenged by elements in the PDP, notably those that supported the third term proposal for the President.
Senator Arthur Nzeribe (PDP, Imo) upon a point of order had said the motion was based on speculation, affirming that it would be improper for the Senate to receive a report based on speculation. He thus moved that the Senate should discontinue further hearing on the motion.
Besides, he said the Senate had already concluded the issue of the EVS as it pertained to the Electoral Bill currently at the joint conference of the two chambers of the National Assembly.
Senator Nzeribe's point of order was supported by Senator Kassim Isa Oyofo (PDP, Edo North) who said he did not know how the Senate could be made to pass a motion based on speculations heard by Senator Mamora.
As the arguments degenerated, Senate President, Chief Ken Nnamani, called for a vote on Senator Nzeribe's point of order and those in support of rejecting the motion won.
The Senate had during its consideration of the 2005 Electoral Bill refused the entreaty of some of its members to insert a clause that would bar INEC from using the EVS in conducting elections in the country.
Report on Mantu
Before then, the report of the Senate Committee on Ethics which was withdrawn on Tuesday upon complaints of some missing pages in the report was circulated to Senators. The missing pages in the report were pages 20 and 31.
Page 31 detailed the findings of the Senate Committee on the ownership of the Asokoro official residence of the deputy Senate president which was alleged to belong to Mantu but which some of his colleagues said hired out through proxies to government.
The committee in its findings said the official residence of the Senate President in Asokoro, Abuja did not belong to Adin Miles International Limited, the property company which at one time bought it.
It further accused Mr. Chika Okafor of Chika Okafor & Company, the estate agent that handled the renting to the National Assembly as evasive. The Committee quoted Mr. Okafor as claiming that his office where most of his documents concerning the transactions were kept were destroyed during the demolition of the office.
"The power of Attorney given to Chika Okafor & Company by Adin Miles International Limited which was said to have been signed by one Director and Secretary did not contain names of the people who signed. None of the signature on the power of Attorney tallied with the signatures of the Directors in the record supplied to us by the Corporate Affairs Commission."
Continuing on the controversial residence of the deputy Senate President, the Committee report said:
"Till date, the property has not been re-certified probably because this may require a disclosure of the true owner of the property. In answering question, Senator Mantu told the Committee that he did not know his landlord, that the National Assembly is his landlord."
The Committee in its finding concluded: "The Committee believes that the evasive and uncooperative attitude of Chika Okafor and the Directors of Adin Miles International Limited is to conceal the true owner of the property."
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