INEC Ignores Senate On Election Time Table

The Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, has insisted that it will follow its earlier released time table of the 2019 general election, hence ignoring the National Assembly bill reordering it.

INEC had announced last year that the Presidential and National Assembly elections would hold on February 16, 2019 while the governorship and state legislative elections will come next.

The National Assembly, however, opposed the sequence of the election and amended the Electoral Act such that the National Assembly, followed by governorship and state assemblies’ elections before the presidential poll.

The amended bill has since been transmitted to President Buhari for assent.

“If the bill is assented to, we will look at the provisions and inform Nigerians on the next step,” INEC boss, Mahmood Yakubu said at the quarterly consultative meeting with the media in Abuja on Monday.

Yakubu, while reacting to change in the sequence of the elections by the Federal Lawmakers, said the commission set the date based on existing schedule.

“As far as the commission is concerned at the moment, we are operating under the existing law and we have issued a timetable for the activities accordingly.

“If something happens tomorrow, we will examine it and proceed accordingly.

“Right now, the draft is on my table based on the current schedule of activities. Thereafter, we will submit it to the approving authorities,” Yakubu said.