National Security Adviser to President Jonathan wants INEC to postpone 2015 elections

Sambo Dasuki, the National Security Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan advised the Independent National Electoral Commission to delay the elections scheduled for next month to allow for proper preparations and distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVC).

He made this statement clear on Thursday in a discourse at London think-thank Chatham House. He said it will be advantageous if the election was to be postponed. He said, “That is what we are encouraging at the moment.”

Dansuki also added that the system of PVC is the first in Nigeria where voters use a biometric card so as not to rig election. He also said INEC had distributed 30 million cards and still needs to distribute more.

The adviser said during his speech that INEC has assured of success in the forthcoming election despite time constraint, adding that he also told the chairman of INEC that it costs them nothing to change the date when there is still about 30million people yet to collect their PVCs.

According to tweets by the Chatham House Africa Programme in London, the NSA also assured that the missing Chibok girls will soon be located with the help of the international community, particularly from the French, British, Americans and Chadians.

The tweets also quotes him debunking allegations that soldiers of the Nigerian Army are under equipped.

Mr Dasuki maintained the official Baga attack casualty figure released by the Nigerian Army, maintaining that only an independent verified copy of the satellite images can prove otherwise.

Suspected members of the Boko Haram attacked the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) base in Baga, Borno State on Saturday, January 5, with Defence Spokesperson, Major-General Chris Olukolade, pegging the casualty figure around the borders of 250 people, comprising mainly of members of the sect.

However, satellite images released on Thursday, January 15 by human rights organisation, Amnesty International, suggested that there was a wide scale destruction by Boko Haram insurgents in the town.

Amnesty International said the images provided “indisputable and shocking evidence” of the scale of the attack on the towns of Baga and Doron Baga by Boko Haram militants.

Credit: Channels