Amid widespread agitation for him to quite office, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, on Monday dismissed speculations that he is under pressure to resign, insisting that such move would be a disservice to Nigerians.
Jega, who also said he is not under any pressure to resign during a town hall meeting in Abuja, said the electoral body was focused on ensuring that the forthcoming general elections conform to acceptable standards.
While asserting that he has got a job to do “and it would be a disservice to Nigerians for me to resign,” he said, “I am not under any pressure. I have absolutely no reason why I should resign because everybody in INEC is focused on the election that we have to conduct for this country.
“There have been all sorts of demands either on my resignation or even my removal but nobody has told me that I have been removed and as far as I am concerned, I have a lot to do and I have to focus on that,” he noted.
Speaking about the issue of the Young Democratic Party, YDP, which has recently been calling on INEC to either reprint ballot papers or postpone the election in order to enable its presidential candidate participate, Jega insisted that he believes the Commission has been fair to the party.
“YDP wanted to be registered as a political party but we did not register them because we have sufficient legal grounds not to do so.
“So they went to the court to get a judgment that they are due to be registered and we have already instructed our lawyer to appeal that judgment and the officials of the party went around evidently organising press conferences to say that the court said we should put them on the ballot.
“But the court have asked them to state why they shouldn’t be disciplined for lying. I am sure that the YDP’s case will have no impact on the 2015 general election,” he stated.
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