THE Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, was recently reported as saying that the commission might rely on the existing voter register for

the conduct of 2011 elections. Jega was said to have made the statement at the swearing-in of 16 resident electoral commissioners at the INEC headquarters in Abuja. He was quoted as saying that one of the priorities of the electoral body was the display across the country of the register of voters left behind by his predecessor in office, Professor Maurice Iwu.

AND while speaking at a news conference the following day, Jega described the same existing voter register as lacking in credibility to stand the test of free and fair elections. He said a close look at the register had revealed massive inadequacies, such as underage registration, blurred photographs and multiple registration by the same persons. Jega’s statement at the news conference was not only an about-turn from what he said the previous day, it also underscored the desideratum of compiling a new voter register. To compile a new register, he said INEC would need between N55 billion and N72 billion. He further said that the Electoral Act must be amended to allow for more time for the exercise to be carried out.

IT was quite timely that Jega within 24 hours made a complete U-turn and went ahead to point out the numerous flaws in Iwu’s register. Not a few Nigerians would have been surprised, if not disappointed, that the new INEC under Jega’s watch could contemplate the use of Iwu’s register to conduct the 2011 elections. Whether Jega was wrongly reported or he realised the need to speedily reverse himself, the fact is that the Nigerian public is greatly relieved that the forthcoming elections are not going to be based on the foundation of the 2007 elections.

FOR many reasons, the appointment of Jega as Nigeria’s chief electoral umpire was widely celebrated across the length and breadth of Nigeria. The academic community from which he comes is one of the most militant segments of the Nigerian society. He has had the honour and privilege of serving as the president of the umbrella body of university teachers — the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). Although Jega was not a nominee of ASUU for the INEC job, his antecedents as a member and past president of the consistently radical group strongly recommended him as a fit and proper person for the exalted and controversial seat. This explains why Nigerians started celebrating him before they saw him in action.

AFTER the large scale bungling and wilful mismanagement that characterised the 2007 elections and made Nigeria the butt of ridicule in the eyes of the democratic world, the general expectation has been that necessary structures will be put in place before the next elections so as to avoid another show of shame. It is a matter for regret that more than three quarters of the four long years between 2007 and 2011 has been virtually wasted and this is why the country is now at the mercy of time. The Electoral Act which has just been passed has to be quickly amended by a National Assembly that is noted for its tardiness and low productivity and whose members are preoccupied with the struggle for what goes into their individual pockets.

THE executive arm has also not given a good account of itself on this issue of electoral reform to ensure the organisation of  credible elections. The late President Umaru Yar’Adua courageously admitted that he was a beneficiary of a flawed election. He wasted no time in setting up an electoral reform committee which did a wonderful job. As a result of self-serving political considerations, however, the government White Paper and the subsequent bill forwarded to the National Assembly did not reflect the most vital aspects of the committee’s recommendations. And since he assumed office, President Goodluck Jonathan has been seizing every available opportunity to talk about his determination to ensure  credible polls but the pace at which things have been moving has not been assuring.

NOW the time element has become the critical factor. There is also the pressing need to bridge the funding gap. Jonathan does not need to be told that the focus of the democratic world is on Nigeria. Without further waste of time, necessary changes should be effected in the Electoral Act to ensure the compilation of a new voter register and the conduct of a credible election in 2011. The needed funds should also be promptly provided to enable the electoral body to carry out its assignment.

ON his part, Jega has to be forthright and firm. The politicians will ruthlessly exploit whatever weakness they find in him and abandon him to lick his wounds. He should have realised how difficult it is to leave the exalted and challenging office of chief electoral umpire with one’s reputation intact. He has to strive hard to be one of those to break the jinx. The existing register of voters is an outright sham.

NIGERIA, therefore, needs a new register for next year’s elections. There should be no dilly-dallying about it. A new voter register is a sine qua non for the conduct of credible elections in 2011. This is not a season for equivocation.

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