ABUJA — Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega,  yesterday, explained that the commission requested for the closure of all schools in the country during the period of voters’ registration in order to guarantee the safety of students and pupils whose schools would  be used for the exercise.

Addressing a joint press conference with the Minister of State for Education, Kenneth Gbagi, at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja, Jega explained that the decision to include private schools in the planned closure was to ensure “equity and uniformity in the educational calendar  of the country.”

The decision to close all schools in the country during the voters’ registration has sparked controversy in the country with some interests threatening to take the government to court to challenge the decision.

Explaining the rational behind the decision, Jega explained that the bulk of the 119,976 polling stations across the country are located in public schools and allowing schools to be in session while the registration exercise is going on would “disrupt” school activities and may put the security of the pupils and students at risk.

“We are concerned about the security of the pupils and students during the exercise,” he said.

He said after the decision was arrived at by government, the commission wrote to all the governors of the 36 states of the federation, soliciting their cooperation in the successful implementation of the shut down order.

Jega rationalised that public schools constituted about 70 per cent of the schools in the country and it would be unfair to allow private schools which constitute about 30 per cent to be in session while the public schools are closed.

“If 70 per cent of the schools are going to be affected, it does not make sense to allow only 30 per cent of the schools to be in session. If it were only 25 per cent of the schools that would be affected, we would not have closed all the schools. It is easier to close the school at the same time for the sake of equity and to maintain the equilibrium in the school system,”he said.

Jega said the commission had written to all the state governors to help enforce the closure of schools, adding that if some state governors opted to keep the schools open during the exercise, it might have been as a result of a “communication problems and that would be unfortunate.”

In his brief comment, Minister of State for Education, Mr Kenneth Gbagi, noted that “some people see elections as a do-or-die affair and we do not want our children to be exposed to danger during the registration exercise if schools are left open.”