Sambo
Dasuki, the National Security Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan
advised the Independent National Electoral Commission to delay the
elections scheduled for next month to allow for proper preparations and
distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVC).
He made this
statement clear on Thursday in a discourse at London think-thank Chatham
House. He said it will be advantageous if the election was to be
postponed. He said, “That is what we are encouraging at the moment.”
Dansuki
also added that the system of PVC is the first in Nigeria where voters
use a biometric card so as not to rig election. He also said INEC had
distributed 30 million cards and still needs to distribute more.
The
adviser said during his speech that INEC has assured of success in the
forthcoming election despite time constraint, adding that he also told
the chairman of INEC that it costs them nothing to change the date when
there is still about 30million people yet to collect their PVCs.
According
to tweets by the Chatham House Africa Programme in London, the NSA also
assured that the missing Chibok girls will soon be located with the
help of the international community, particularly from the French,
British, Americans and Chadians.
The tweets also quotes him debunking allegations that soldiers of the Nigerian Army are under equipped.
Mr
Dasuki maintained the official Baga attack casualty figure released by
the Nigerian Army, maintaining that only an independent verified copy of
the satellite images can prove otherwise.
Suspected members of
the Boko Haram attacked the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) base
in Baga, Borno State on Saturday, January 5, with Defence Spokesperson,
Major-General Chris Olukolade, pegging the casualty figure around the
borders of 250 people, comprising mainly of members of the sect.
However,
satellite images released on Thursday, January 15 by human rights
organisation, Amnesty International, suggested that there was a wide
scale destruction by Boko Haram insurgents in the town.
Amnesty
International said the images provided “indisputable and shocking
evidence” of the scale of the attack on the towns of Baga and Doron Baga
by Boko Haram militants.
Credit: Channels
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