18th February, 2015
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega, on Wednesday appeared before the Senate to clear the air on the preparations for the general elections rescheduled from February to 28 March and 11 April this year.
He and his team used the opportunity to demonstrate the use of the card reader which INEC is to use for the conduct of the elections.
According to Jega, the card reader which is used to read data on Permanent Voter’s Card will help check accreditation irregularities and ensure that elections are free, fair and credible.
He said the device was manufactured in China and tested in the United States of America to ascertain its functionality under any weather condition.
He said every card reader is configured for a particular polling unit and the battery of the device could last for 12 hours.
Jega said Nigerians should be patient regarding the use of the card reader, adding that it is an offence for anyone not to use it during the election.
He said security agents, party agents and INEC ad hoc staff would not allow any attempt to circumvent the use of the card reader.
At a point the Senate was thrown into a rowdy session when the demonstration of the card readers began.
The session was still ongoing at the time of filing this report.