Resolve All Card Reader Issues Before Kogi, Bayelsa Polls – APC Tells INEC

The All Progressives Congress on Tuesday charged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to address all the problems associated with the use of card readers during the last general elections before the forthcoming governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states.

The National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, gave the charge while speaking on “The Role of Political Parties in Sustaining the Gains of the 2015 General Elections: The APC Perspective”, at the ongoing 55th Annual Bar Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association in Abuja.

A former Delta State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Dafe Akpedeye (SAN), who also spoke on the topic, “Sustaining the gains of the 2015 general elections”, from the perspective of the Nigerian Bar Association Election Working Group, said the hope of conducting better elections in the country would be determined by the outcome of the forthcoming staggered elections in Kogi and Bayelsa.

In attributing the success which the nation recorded in the last general elections to the deployment of technology, the APC spokesman insisted that INEC must ensure a smooth functioning of the card readers ahead of the governorship elections scheduled for November 21, 2015 in Kogi State and for December 5, 2015 in Bayelsa State.

He said, “Arguably the biggest gain of the last election was the generally successful organisation of the elections and the fact that the results were largely acceptable to most Nigerians.

“Despite the pre-election fears of rigging and violence, and the unprecedentedly-vicious electioneering campaign, the elections were widely adjudged to be free, fair, credible and mostly violence-free.

“This made it easier not just for politicians but for ordinary Nigerians to accept the outcome.

“Many have attributed the success of the polls to the use of technology, especially the card reader and the biometric voter’s card. I concur, though much work still need to be done to ensure the smooth functioning of the card readers”.