?The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega told his officers that the last electoral process had imperfections and needed to to improved upon.
Jega, who stated this to electoral officers gathered at a retreat to assess the 2011 voter registration and general elections in Abuja, reiterated his earlier post-election assessment – that despite the many accolades heaped on the commission, the elections was still riddled with marked irregularities.
He said:“It is a collective success…but you and I know that the elections were not perfect. There are many imperfections still with the elections and there is tremendous scope and room for improvement. The earlier we start thinking about what was done well and what was done wrongly,; the more we can collect this in order to keep on improving for the future.”
According to the commission’s chairman, time constraints contributed largely to several lapses recorded during the elections and noted that early preparation would be crucial to ensuring that the electoral commission got it right in the in 2015.
“We didn’t have a lot of time to plan and prepare for the election and voter registration. But post-April election, before the next general elections, we do have ample time … we must start early. That is why the commission has designed a programme of activities post -election which commenced with the appointment of an independent committee to help us do a study and evaluation of both the voter registration and the elections.
“And then we have also arranged a series of retreats which will give us an opportunity in-house to put heads together and assess what went wrong and what was done right, and begin to plan for the future.
“We knew it was going to be difficult – we have said it repeatedly – but we also knew it was a doable job and we have done it; but we can do even more. “
The electoral boss reiterated his belief that the body would keeping improving its methods in order to render an impeccable electoral process in the country through appropriate reform measures towards satisfying the aspiration of Nigerians for free, fair and credible elections.?