President Goodluck Jonathan says only the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, can explain the failure that attended the voter card readers in several parts of the country during Saturday’s presidential and parliamentary elections.
The President, who was responding to questions from newsmen after casting his vote in Otuoke, Bayelsa State, however, noted that he would not blame Jega for noticeable lapses in the electoral process as government is a whole institution of which INEC is only a component.
“INEC wants to use the card readers to make sure that our electoral process is credible and acceptable by international observers. Somehow, being the first time we are practising with the card readers, there have been some issues in some units, but please bear with them. I believe at the end of the day, we all will be happy.”
“The only thing is that some people must have stayed there longer than necessary, but I still plead with them that even if they spend 24 hours for the sake of this country, they should bear with us.
“I’m not putting blame on INEC, the government is one. I don’t blame INEC, judiciary, police, soldiers and executives. I am the president of the country. As a nation, we have different departments that handle responsibility. The issue of elections is INEC’s exclusive responsibility and nobody will speak for them. Even if I have some information, I cannot speak for INEC. Jega is the only one that can speak for INEC. I speak for the federal government.”
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