A former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Attahiru Jega, on Monday came down heavily on All Progressive Congress (APC), speaking against the violence that have characterized its recent party primaries across the country as a threat to the 2019 general elections.
He expressed concern that if political parties cannot peacefully organise their internal elections, it becomes much more problematic to engage other parties with civility in the coming general elections.
Jega said this in a lecture (titled: “Peace Building and Good Governance for Sustainable Development in Nigeria”) he delivered to mark the 2018 Democracy Day in Abuja.
The former INEC chairman also cited growing incidences of hate speech, warning that it would have an adverse effect on the 2019 general elections.
He similarly observed that the delay in the passage the framework for the conduct of the 2019 election was also a risk to the process.
Citing the provision of the Constitution which gives only seven days for the conduct of run-offs where necessary, Jega said it was an impossible task as no such election can be done in so short a time.
Jega noted that while the Buhari administration was focusing its war against corruption on embezzlement and theft, it is not not addressing the more common problem of bribery in states and federal institutions.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has faulted the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation for not inviting a former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godsay Orubebe, to the 2018 Democracy Day Lecture.
Orubebe, it would be recalled, had during the release of the results of the 2015 presidential election attempted to disrupt the process.
Buhari said organisers should have invited him to listen to the lecture delivered by the then chairman of the electoral commission at the time of his infamous disruption.
