The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has explained why they cannot contract a Nigerian company to print electoral materials.
Yakubu gave the reasons while defending INEC’s budget before the House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters on Monday in Abuja.
He stated that most of the printing companies don’t have the capacity to produce the materials and they are not ready to face any disappointments.
“Yes we should look inward, but there are issues such as the volume you have to produce within a short time. If you engage local companies, you may realise that they don’t have the capacity to produce large number within a short period.
“There’s also the Nigerian problem. People will quickly go and register a patent and make claims. Some of the procurements are time bound. We can’t allow somebody to hold us to ransom. In fact, even on the card reader, some people were making claims.
“But this is without prejudice to the suggestion. We’ll find a way of encouraging local companies. The problem is the volume and time frame; there are places that are not motorable.
“The constitution says we have one week to do a rerun. If we have a constitutional crisis on one week to conclude an inconclusive presidential election, I’m afraid we may not meet up. Some places are not motorable at all. I didn’t know this until we conducted the last election in Abuja,” he said.
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