Elections will hold in troubled states, Jega assures

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured Nigerians of its preparedness to conduct the 2015 elections in the states under emergency rule: Yobe, Adamawa and Borno.

INEC chairman, Attahiru Jega, gave this assurance on  on Monday while commissioning the headquarters in Abuja.

According to Jega, the successful conduct of the by-election in Yobe State on Saturday, despite security challenges, is clear proof of the commission’s readiness.

“We are committed to ensuring that the 2015 elections will be much better than the 2011 elections,” he said.

“We would do everything possible to keep on improving.”

Jega described last Saturday’s election in Yobe as one of the best to have been conducted recently, saying the exercise, which ought to have held two years ago, was postponed because of the security situation in the state.

“I am very pleased: from all the reports we have received, it was one of the best elections that we have conducted so far in terms of turnout and commencement,” he added.

“All INEC officials arrived at the election venues on time. If anybody has any doubt about our preparedness for next year’s elections in these states, this is clear evidence that we can do it well under any circumstance.”