ASUU rejects polls shift

President of Academic Staff Union of Universities, Dr. Nasir Fagge,
has expressed displeasure over the postponement of the general
elections, saying there was no justification for it.
Fagge told the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos that the security issue
which the shifting of the polls was predicated on was not sufficient.
NAN recalls that the Independent National Electoral Commission had on
Saturday night announced the rescheduling of the polls from February
14 and February 28 to March 28 and April 11.
Chairman of the commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, who announced the
shift in a news conference in Abuja, said that Presidential and
National Assembly polls scheduled for February 14 would now hold on
March 28.
Similarly, he said that governorship and states' Houses of Assembly
election was shifted from February 28 to April 11.
He gave security advice from the service chiefs as reason for
postponing the elections.
Fagge said that the nation's security chiefs ought to have alerted
INEC well ahead of time, of their inability to guarantee security
during the elections.
He said that the current development would not speak well of Nigeria
before international communities.
He expressed doubt if the six weeks extension would be enough to
tackle the security issue believed to be the major reason for
postponing the elections.
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"However, if the election umpire has been convinced enough to have the
elections postponed, especially as it concerns security, then let us
give them the benefit of doubt.
"All I can say at this point is to call on Nigerians to organize
themselves very well and keep their eyes open.
"I also want to seize this opportunity to appeal to them to use this
period to ensure that they collect their voter cards and ensure that
they do not only vote but also ensure that their votes count," Fagge
said.
Commenting on the issue, a teacher at the University of Lagos, Prof.
Solomon Akinboye, said there was nothing wrong with the postponement
of the polls' change in dates as long as it did not affect the
hand-over date.
Akinboye, who is Head, Department of Political Science at the
university, said that since INEC had given reasons for postponing the
elections, Nigerians were left with no choice than to accept it.
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