National Security Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan, Sambo Dasuki, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to shift the February 2015 general elections in Nigeria to enable the Commission prepare well for the polls.
Dasuki gave this advice on Thursday while speaking as a guest at the London think-tank Chatham House.
He said the postponement will enable INEC have more time to distribute the controversial Permanent Voter’s Card, PVC, to the electorates who are yet to receive theirs.
The PVC is a card containing the biometric data of its holder and it is the first time such will be used in Nigeria for a general election. It was introduced to curtail electoral frauds associated with polls in the country.
The President’s aide said he has already discussed the issue with INEC boss, Attahiru Jega.
Dasuki argued that INEC still has about 30 million cards to distribute to Nigerians, having already shared same number of cards to registered voters.
According to him, INEC still has 90 days within the law to conduct the polls if the earlier scheduled February date is not achievable.
“What sense does it make to vote three months early when there are 30 million cards still with INEC? That’s my position,” Dasuki stressed.
Meanwhile, INEC spokesman, Kayode Idowu, has told Reuters that the Commission has no plans postpone the elections. In his words, “It is not a conversation of the Commission’s at all. As far as we are talking now, the date is what it is.”
