INEC Advises Electoral Officials On Discipline

INEC Advises Electoral Officials On Discipline

Nigeria's Electoral Commission's Chairman, Attahiru Jega has advised electoral officials on the importance of discipline in their duty, saying the commission had the capacity to detect the corrupt ones.

Jega offered the advice on Thursday in Abuja during the Independent national electoral Commission (INEC) retreat for National Commissioners, Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) and Administrative Secretaries.

The retreat was entitled “preparing for free, fair and credible elections in 2011''.

Ensuring free and fair election

He urged the RECs to be more focused and committed towards satisfying the aspirations of Nigerians for free, fair and credible elections.

Jega charged them to ensure discipline, integrity and honesty among every member of INEC family.

He urged them not to spare officials under them whose actions or inactions tended to give INEC a bad name.

“If they continue in the same vein, doing bad things, creating bad name for all of us, we will have the machinery in place to detect, apprehend and to successfully prosecute them,'' he said.

Jega said the best way INEC could redeem the negative perception of Nigerians towards the commission was to ensure that its work was indeed credible.    

Road to credible election

He commended the RECs for the success of the voter registration and urged them to work towards operational readiness for free, fair and credible elections.

Jega added that through the new voter register, the commission had created a foundation for sustainable and credible elections in the country.

The REC, Cross River, Mr Mike Igiri, identified the need to credibly midwife the election process and redefine the country into what is compatible with the aspirations of Nigerians.

NAN/Williams