Amid serious rejection of the governorship election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Saturday, the commission has claimed responsibility for the crisis that rocked Idemili North.
Huhuonline.com had on Saturday reported that the exercise could not hold in the area, following late arrival of electoral materials and poor preparation of the materials by INEC’s Electoral Officer for the area.
Speaking in an interview on Sunday, INEC Chairman, Attahiru Jega put the blame on the INEC official in charge of the area, saying the official messed up the commission’s arrangement for the election in the area.
He however said the situation of the area did not warrant the outright cancellation of the exercise in the entire state, as the Police is already investigating the issue.
Meanwhile, in an apparent opposition to sectional calls for the total cancellation of the governorship election held in Anambra State on Saturday, the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) on Sunday expressed understanding of the rescheduling of election in areas where it did not hold.
It added that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) performed to the best of its ability even though the election was riddled with challenges.
“From their observation, we know the commission tried, but we also know areas where elections need to be repeated”, Chairman of the organisation, Malam Zikirulahi Ibrahim, whose team also monitored the election, said.
“We, however, believe that INEC could have done better by holding the rescheduled election on a working day instead of a Sunday, considering the religious belief of the people of the area”.
He said his organisation believes that anything worth doing should be done well, adding that this is why he would prefer a weekday for the rescheduled election.
