2019: We have confidence in INEC, APC tells EU delegation

The acting National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Otunba Niyi Adebayo, has voiced confidence in the ability of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct free, fair and credible elections in 2019.

Adebayo spoke in Abuja on Monday at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja when he received a 2019 election exploratory delegation of the European Union to Nigeria.

While reacting to the EU delegation’s enquiries on APC’s assessment of the country’s election management body and the justice system ahead of the elections, he voiced confidence in the ability of the judiciary to resolve disputes that might arise for the election process.

Adebayo, who voiced the APC readiness for the forthcoming 2019 general elections, was accompanied during the meeting by the party’s National Treasurer, Alh. Adamu Fanda and Chief of Staff to the National Chairman, Abasi Braimah.

The party’s senior official, who is the Deputy National Chairman (South), thanked the European Union for their longstanding interest and developmental support for the country’s electioneering process.

The European Delegation Exploratory Team Leader, Nicolay Paus, who spoke on behalf of the delegation, said the team had already met with other election stakeholders in the country to recommend whether the EU would deploy election observers to monitor the 2019 general elections.

“We have met with a range of electoral stakeholders – INEC, some political parties, ministries of foreign affairs and information, civil society and some of the international organisations working on electoral support. The purpose is really to collect as much information as possible to recommend whether to deploy an observer mission for the 2019 elections. This decision will be taken in Brussels.

“As you may remember in 2015, there was a mission here which arrived around six weeks before the elections and stayed some weeks after the elections. We also had a number of long-term observers who followed the electoral process as well,” Paus said.

Other members of the delegation were the Head of Politics, EU Delegation in Nigeria, Olivier Huot; Policy Officer, Jose-Antonio Torres-Lacasa; Election analyst, Hannah Roberts and Political Adviser, Osaro Odemwingie.