The plot to sack the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, is gathering momentum, investigations have revealed.
Jega’s tenure ends on June 30 but his
traducers, especially some Peoples Democratic Party members, are already
compiling what they described as his ‘sins’ to ensure that he proceeds
on terminal leave before the March 28 and April 11 elections.
Continue reading after the cut....
Findings on Monday revealed that the
“sins,” include alleged transfer of some INEC officials considered
close to them out of their departments where their input might not be
useful in the conduct of the elections.
It was also gathered that the PDP
members, who are close to the Presidency, feel that Jega is
becoming unapproachable on issues.
A source in the Presidency, who did not
want his name in print, said that the reason the INEC boss gave for
the postponement of the elections had negatively affected the
credibility of the Presidency and the PDP.
He said, “The way Jega spoke at the press
briefing where he announced the postponement of the polls, was meant to
implicate the PDP and the Presidency.
“This was why everybody, including
foreign governments, have been blaming the leadership of the country for
the postponement of the elections.
“The summary of Jega’s presentation was
that INEC was ready but that the security agencies, whose headships are
appointees of the President, frustrated the commission’s desire to
hold the elections on February 14 and 28.”
He added that some national leaders of
the PDP would meet with President Goodluck Jonathan and members of his
electioneering team this week to review the presidential campaign.
The meeting, according to him, will also
“discuss the wisdom in sending Jega on terminal leave any moment from
now because of his perceived sins.”
He added, “Close friends of the
President in the party and the stakeholders will meet to review the
campaigns and I can tell you that the issue about Jega matter would
certainly be discussed.
“We have received several reports on this matter and I can assure you that it would be looked into and a decision taken.”
Further investigations however showed
that before the postponement of the elections, the military had directed
its commands nationwide to prepare operational methodology for the
exercise.
A reliable military officer told The PUNCH in Abuja that they were surprised to hear Jega blame the poll postponement on the unpreparedness of the military.
He said, “We were astonished to hear that
we were not prepared and all that. How many officers do we have in the
North-East? How many of our men were deployed for the last
governorship election in Osun State? So there are things we have not
been told about the elections.”
However, some political parties under the
aegis of the Coalition of Progressive Political Parties, have vowed to
frustrate any attempt to stop Jega from conducting the elections.
They warned at a news conference in Abuja on Monday, that Jega’s removal would affect the credibility of the elections.
The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic
Movement, Bashir Ibrahim, who spoke for the group, said that though
the INEC chairman played into the hands of the PDP by rescheduling the
election dates, “we are going to resist the move to remove him from
office.
“The role of the election management
board led by Jega in shifting the dates of the election may not be the
best, but any move to remove him will be resisted,” Bashir added.
The leader of COP said that if the INEC
chairman was removed, it would show that the shift was engineered
by the ruling PDP for ulterior motives.
Also on Monday, a coalition of 18 civil
society organisations called for the immediate resignation of the
service chiefs “for arm-twisting INEC’’ and for abdication of national
responsibility.
The CSOs which passed a vote of
confidence in Jega, explained that they were calling for the resignation
of the service chiefs because their action was “a clear indication of
the abyss to which the military had descended to.”
The Chairman of the Transitional
Monitoring Group, Ibrahim Zikirullahi, spoke on behalf of the CSOs
at a news conference in Abuja.
He said, “The most worrisome reality is
that the Nigerian military, which is supposed to be nationalistic and
patriotic in outlook, has allowed itself to be led by those they serve
for expressly narrow interests.
“To say the least, the military has
failed the Nigerian people. It is a betrayal of trust for the military
in connivance with the National Security Adviser to have allowed itself
to be used to suspend Nigeria’s electoral process.
“The grand conspiracy to arm-twist INEC
to shift the 2015 general elections to satisfy narrow political
considerations is a clear indication of the abyss to which the military
has descended.
“The claim that they will not be able to
protect INEC personnel and materials for the polls that were to hold on
14 and 28 February 2015, is a national disgrace and embarrassment.”
Zikirullahi stated that the excuse by the
military that it needed “to concentrate on the fight against Boko
Haram, is untenable.”
He wondered the kind of magic the Chief
of Defence Staff and the NSA wanted to perform to deal with Boko Haram
in six weeks that it could not do in six years.
Zikirullahi added that the CDS had in the
past fed Nigerians with lies pertaining to the ongoing fight against
insurgency and therefore called on all security chiefs and the NSA to
bury their heads in shame and resign.
“The Civil Society Coalition hereby calls
for their immediate resignation, for abdicating a national
responsibility, and attempting to drown the voices of the Nigerian
people. The current military high command, if they still have any iota
of honour and good conscience, should immediately vacate their
positions,” he insisted.
Zikirullahi advised Jega to resist any attempt to push him out of office.
“This coalition respects and understands
INEC’s position that it was ready to go ahead with the elections, until
the military decided to abdicate its constitutional duty,” he stressed.
Culled - Punch
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