Chidi Samuel || Prof. Attahiru Jega, the former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, on Thursday questioned the power of the National Assembly to alter the sequence of the 2019 elections.
The former chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Nigeria Universities and immediate past chairman of INEC made the assertion at an event organised by the Youth Initiative for Advocacy Growth and Development in Abuja.
Jega who spoke on the theme, ‘Is Nigeria’s Democracy Under Threat?’ said the National Assembly’s action undermined the independence of INEC.
Citing several sections of the 1999 Constitution, he stated that the power to organise and set the date for elections clearly remain the exclusive preserve of INEC.
According to the respected professor, another drawback for the amendment is the fact that the cost of election would be higher if the election sequence is altered.