Jega faults IGP, says no law confined cat-and-mouse afterwards voting

The Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abba, and the Chairman, Independent National Balloter Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, on Friday clashed over the badge chief’s “vote and go home order.”
While the IGP had warned voters to go aback to their
homes afterwards casting their votes on acclamation days, Jega said the balloter law did not accompaniment that voters could not or should not delay to watch and ensure that their votes count.
The IGP, who addressed accepted assemblage for the accessible accepted elections in Abuja, said the achievability of committing balloter answerability was actual top if voters backward aback at the polling booths for votes to be counted.
He said that anniversary polling assemblage would accept at atomic two or three policemen to assure votes casting by the electorate.
“We will go on to assure the electorate. Every acceptable aborigine should feel safe abundant to casting his votes. We will be there to assure the votes and accomplish abiding no one disrupts the process,” Abba said
But Jega disagreed with the badge chief.
The INEC chairman, who appeared as a bedfellow on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, said there is no allotment of the Balloter Act that forbids voters from cat-and-mouse at the polling booths, abacus that the law was alone adjoin loitering.
Also, Jega’s Arch Press Secretary, Mr. Kayode Idowu, fatigued the position of the commission’s boss, abacus that no law confined voters from blockage about polling centres.
He said, “Jega did not belie the IGP; he did not belie annihilation that is in the law and what the IGP said. What the IGP said was that this adjustment of INEC that says humans can break aback in polling units, that he is afflictive about it because the Balloter Act provides that anybody who loiters about the polling units or commits an balloter answerability can be prosecuted.
“He said if you break at the polling unit, there is a actual top adventitious that you will accomplish an balloter offense. Humans who amble aural the polling units do not accept accepted business.
“That was absolutely what Jega said, that if you wish to stay, you accept to break on the action that your conduct will not aggregate an balloter offense. You will not corruption people, you will not be advancing appear people, you will be calm and you will not be unruly. As such, the aegis agents will not apprehend you.”
However, the All Progressives Congress tackled the IGP over the “unlawful order.”
In a account in Lagos by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the affair asked voters to rather accept to Jega and backward abaft to assure their votes afterwards casting their ballots.
The account read, “According to Jega, who appeared on Channels TV on Friday morning, the balloter law says anyone that has no business with the balloter action at the polling booths but desires to adviser contest should break at atomic some metres abroad from the polling agents and absolutely abroad from the election box afterwards casting their votes.
“‘The INEC Administrator added antiseptic that all registered voters accept businesses with the action and can accordingly not be classified as humans that don’t accept businesses at polling units.
“Therefore, the IGP has no built-in appropriate or admiral beneath the architecture or Badge Act to carbon the balloter law. The role of the badge is to advance law and adjustment or such added abetment as may be approved from the badge by INEC.”