"Senators, Reps Members Are Notorious Bribe Takers" - Jega

Throughout a Democracy Day lecture delivered in Abuja yesterday, a former chairman of the Impartial Nationwide Electoral Fee (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, raised the alarm on the 2019 basic elections.

He pointedly accused federal lawmakers (Senators and Home of Reps members) of asking for and taking bribes in the middle of their official responsibility.

He recognized the delay within the passage of the electoral authorized framework for the elections as a vital problem, including that the Electoral Act has many contradictory provisions that must be urgently amended.

Jega stated: “The very first thing to think about is electoral violence and there’s no higher solution to deal with this than what occurred in latest occasion congresses and its potential hazard.

“If political events can’t organise their inside elections peacefully, how can they have interaction the opposite events with civilities within the basic elections.

“It is vitally essential that that is addressed as a result of if there’s disaster within the elections, a few of these points outdoors the scope of electoral fee however in the long run it’s the electoral fee that will get blamed.

“So, it is vitally essential that we enhance our systemic mechanisms of addressing violence and conflicts associated to elections and, specifically, bettering the rating of inside democracy inside political events. We could also be working out of time, we should strive more durable and do all the things potential inside the shortest time.

“The second factor that must be addressed is the latest spate of hate speeches by political actors, spiritual leaders, it’s this unbridled utterances by opinion leaders, spiritual leaders, political leaders that facilitated electoral violence generally elections. So these should be tamed.”

The ex-electoral umpire-in-chief stated: “Once more, we should take severe measures to see that the rule of regulation is complied with. Efficient prosecution is essential to militate in opposition to this problem.

“So increasingly more patriotic, democratic, well-meaning Nigerians want to talk in opposition to hate speeches whereas authorities places its mechanisms in place figuring out, prosecuting those that represent nuisance.

“Thirdly, an enormous problem I see is the delay is passing the electoral modification act, from what occurred not too long ago within the Home of representatives it appears some progress is being made, however it is vitally essential that they’ve a great and a a lot better electoral authorized framework in place for the 2019 basic elections than we had within the 2015 basic elections.

“I stored giving examples of some points of current authorized framework which may have created constitutional disaster if not for God’s intervention in 2015. For instance, a constitutional provision that requires the electoral fee to conduct a run-off election inside seven days, it’s not possible on this nation however that’s what the structure says. Why is it not possible?

“By the point the electoral fee declares the outcomes, it will have been two days after which in case you take out these two days, you can be left with 5 days to arrange for the run-off election. In the meantime, after elections, INEC usually demobilises employees, safety personnel and so forth and you can not demobilise them and get them again within the polling unit inside 5 days.

“So, in 2015, we had very severe apprehension within the electoral fee due to that constitutional provision, due to a runoff as a result of essential we can’t do it inside the constitutional provision.

“In fact, there are a lot of different points of the Electoral Act, that are contradictory to occasion democracy. You’ve gotten a provision 87 that claims that occasion primaries must be performed democratically and Part 31 says no matter identify the occasion submits to the Electoral Fee can’t be rejected for any purpose in any way.”

“INEC is meant to look at occasion congress, so INEC has an inventory of these candidates that emerge at occasion primaries. However political events have a penchant of hiding below Part 31 to ship to INEC individuals who haven’t even participated in occasion primaries and I noticed this occur in 2015.

“We wished to reject that however we have been suggested by attorneys that if we did that, the electoral fee will now be interpreted to be partisan and in Nigeria individuals are typically prepared to tug electoral fee into politics and as soon as that’s performed, your complete integrity of the fee is undermined,” he stated

Jega faulted the non removing from workplace of those that cross-carpet.

He stated: “Final instance I’ll give is the difficulty of conducting by-elections within the case of dying or within the case of cross carpeting. INEC, by regulation, needs to be notified even when it reads it within the newspapers, even when it is aware of that has occurred, except the Nationwide Meeting has written to it to declare a emptiness, INEC won’t conduct a by-election.

“And there have been many instances that we knew earlier than the 2015 basic elections, individuals who had cross carpeted, who ought to have misplaced their seats by advantage of cross carpeting however the management of the Nationwide Meeting, advertently, vehemently refused to put in writing to INEC.

“I appeared earlier than the Ethics Committee, offered proof senator had really cross carpeted and, by the provisions of the regulation, ought to have misplaced his seat and that we wished to be written in order that we may conduct by-election to interchange him; that letter by no means got here till I left workplace.

“That provision continues to be there and if we don’t deal with it, we are going to proceed to hold the luggage of legal guidelines that may undermine the integrity of an election.”

“So it is vitally essential to speed up this course of of getting a brand new improved authorized framework for INEC to have the ability to do its job as a result of proper now they’re working below severe strain.”

He went on: “Final level I wish to make is that safety companies must show professionalism, neutrality and impartiality.

“This is essential. In actual fact, in all equity, the relative success that we had within the 2015 basic elections was due to the lively engagement of what we name the inter-agency consultative committee and the dedication of the safety companies to do their finest below very troublesome circumstances.

“I’m not saying there have been no breaches, the truth is with advantage of hindsight there have been many breaches however their professionalism and neutrality within the 2015 basic elections.

“However a very powerful factor is that if you evaluate the work of the safety companies in 2015 elections to what occurred in 2007 elections, it was marginally a lot better.”

Jega urged related safety companies to beam anti-corruption searchlight on the Nationwide Meeting committee chairmen who ask for bribe to go budgets of Ministries Departments and Companies and after they go on oversight capabilities.

Stated Jega: “And I ponder right here what is occurring with intelligence and investigative obligations of safety companies in policing our Nationwide Meeting.

“Some chairmen of the committees in Nationwide Meeting have change into infamous on this challenge of demanding for bribe with impunity…”