By Joseph Erunke

ABUJA— As Nigerians continue to express worry over the security situation in the country, especially the North-East, Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, has said only assurances from security agencies on the safety of the commission’s personnel, materials as well as free atmosphere can convince him to conduct elections in crisis prone areas.

This was even as he assured that the Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, will not only register but also cast their votes in the forth coming elections, saying the commission was putting necessary arrangements in place towards ensuring that the IDPs participate fully in the poll.

Jega, who said the commission was prepared to conduct the 2015 general elections, however, expressed optimism that before February 2015, the various security challenges currently facing the country would be addressed to give way for free and safe conduct of the poll.

The INEC boss spoke in an interview with newsmen, yesterday, in Abuja, while attending a two-day strategic stakeholders’ policy dialogue on promoting peaceful elections in 2015, organised by the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP; Democratic Governance for Development Programme, DGD, in partnership with the Institute of Peace Conflict and Resolution, IPCR, and the Transition Monitoring Group, TMG.

He said: “As an election management body, INEC is prepared to conduct elections everywhere in this country. As for the security challenges, INEC is not a security agency, we rely on the advice, cooperation and support of security agencies to be able to secure our materials, to secure our personnel and to enable us have a free atmosphere within which to conduct elections.

“We are hopeful that before February, 2015, a lot of security challenges will be addressed so that there would be sufficient normalcy to conduct elections at that time.”

Arrangement in place for IDPs to vote

On the incessant terror attacks in the North-East, Jega said: “We have to remain hopeful; we all know that our security agencies are doing their best. You can’t give up hope, you can’t just assume that things will still get from bad to worse, you have to assume and hope that things will get better and our hope is that things will get better before February, 2015.”

He said: “In terms of Internally Displaced Persons, IPDs, INEC is doing a lot of work to carter for the internally displaced persons, we are doing our best to see how we can accommodate them, how we can ensure that those of them who have registered are able to exercise their franchise.”