The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has said it stands by its decision to conduct the 2019 presidential and National Assembly elections on the same day before the governorship and state legislative elections.
The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made this clear at a chat with the media in Abuja on Monday.
INEC had announced sometime last year that the presidential and National Assembly elections would hold on February 16, 2019 while the governorship, state assembly and area council elections in the Federal Capital Territory would take place on March 2, 2019.
But the National Assembly kicked against the order of the election and amended the Electoral Act so that the National Assembly election would hold first while the presidential election comes last.
The bill has since been sent to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent.
The INEC boss said as far as the body is concerned, it is still operating under the existing law.
He said, “there is no legal lacuna at the moment. What we have done is on the basis of the existing law and nothing has changed.”
“If the bill is accented to, we will look at the provisions and inform Nigerians on the next step. But as far as the commission is concerned at the moment, we are operating under the existing law and we have issued a timetable for the activities accordingly.
“If something happens tomorrow, we will examine it and proceed accordingly.”
According to Mr. Yakubu the budget for the 2019 elections had been drafted based on its own sequence and timetable, adding that the proposal would soon be transmitted to the National Assembly for approval.
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