TheCable

Attahiru Jega, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has again dismissed the allegation that he is under pressure to resign.

Speaking on Monday during a town hall meeting in Abuja, Jega said the electoral body was focused on ensuring that the general election conforms to acceptable standards.

“I have 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.”

On the issue of the Young Democratic Party (YDP), which has been in the news recently for asking INEC to either reprint ballot papers or postpone the election in order to enable its presidential candidate participate, Jega said 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,” he said.

“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 case will have no impact on the 2015 general election.”