Transparency International on Saturday expressed its disappointment with the postponement of the general elections.
The leader of the group in Nigeria, Musa Rafsanjani, said the new electoral dates called for worry over the “security of elections materials which had been distributed across the country”.
Rafsanjani, who is also Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, urged the National Assembly to constitute a committee to investigate the sudden postponement of the polls.
He said there was a systemic conflict of interests and questionable procurement process in the electoral commission, adding that the postponement had caused the country, civil societies and international community a lot in terms of financial and human resources.
Rafsanjani said, “While we express our disappointment over the poor preparatory processes by the electoral body that hampered adequate deployment of electoral materials to many parts of the country, we condemn the decision (postponement) informed by a deliberate abuse of independent power.
“Given a large presence of youth deployment for anchoring electoral processes and international electoral observation missions across the country, the postponement is a huge setback for the nation’s democracy which may breed electoral apathy and distrust at all levels.
“With the new electoral dates, we are as well worried about the safety and integrity and security of the elections materials which have been distributed across the country.”
He added, “We demand adequate security for both materials and human resources deployed by the commission so far to the field to avert susceptibility to violations and attacks by unpatriotic individuals or groups. We call on the commission to tender unreserved apologies to Nigerian and international observers, who are committed their time, presence and financial resources to monitor the electoral process.”
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