2011: INTERIM GOVERNMENT SHOULD CONDUCT ELECTION – FALAE

A former Secretary to the Federal Government and Leader, Social Democratic Mega Party, Chief Olu Falae, has said interim government should be allowed to conduct the 2011 presidential election.

He also said the election timetable as released by the Independent National Electoral Commission was too clumsy and was designed to fail.

Falae, who spoke in Abuja at a press briefing organised by the leadership of the newly registered Social Democratic Mega Party, said Nigeria should borrow a leaf from Bangladesh where, he said, the ruling party was not empowered to conduct elections.

He said, 'We are calling for the shifting of the election from January. The INEC timetable as released is designed to fail.

'But while we are calling for a shift of the date, we are not calling for the elongation of tenure of the present government.

'What we are saying is that if the doctrine of necessity could be used when our late president, Alhaji Umaru Yar'Adua was sick, then there is nothing wrong if we could also adopt it now.

'The members of the National Assembly should design a way whereby we will adopt the Bangladesh method whereby government in power is not allowed to conduct election.

'Then we could then have government of eminent Nigerians at the helm of affairs who will then conduct the 2011 elections.

He said while the 1999 elections were bad, the 2003 poll was worse while that of 2007 was the worst.

'We cannot continue like that. If we fail again in 2011, I don't know what will happen,' he added.

Falae also said it would be difficult for INEC to register all Nigerian voters in just 14 days.

He accused the Peoples Democratic Party of designing the timetable in such a way that would make rigging easy for the ruling party.