INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega
The 2015 elections have generated a lot of controversies in recent time. These controversies have made the political temperature of the country to be on the upward trend even as the dates for the elections draw closer. The postponement of the elections by six weeks by the Independent National Electoral Commission has not helped matters. Before then, there was so much pressure on INEC from different quarters including the ruling Peoples Democratic Party for the shifting of the elections which were earlier scheduled for last month.
This call for the postponement of the elections was taken seriously after the National Security Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan, Col. Sambo Dasuki, re-echoed it. Dasuki had while delivering a speech in London called for the shifting of the elections due to huge number of Permanent Voter Cards which had yet to be distributed by INEC. However, the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Attahiru Jega, while announcing the postponement of the polls attributed the shift to the inability of the security agencies to guarantee security for both the INEC officials and voters alike during the elections.
Since the announcement for the postponement, there have been allegations that the Presidency has perfected plans for the removal of the INEC chairman who has been accused of working for the interest of the opposition All Progressives Congress. It is believed in some quarters especially the APC that Jega whose tenure as INEC chairman expires in June 2015, would be asked to embark on three months terminal leave starting from this month. Although President Goodluck Jonathan and his aides had on different occasions denied any such plan before the expiration of Jega’s tenure, the rumours whether Jega is going or not have refused to wane down.
The President had also in a presidential media chat maintained that the May 29th hand-over date was sacrosanct, I would have been more comfortable if the President had said that the new dates for the elections were irrevocable. This would have taken care of the fears of some people who are still in doubt if the elections would hold as rescheduled. However, whether there is any credibility to the allegation or not, one thing is certain: sacking the INEC chairman in less than a month to the elections will spell doom for the entire country and will be a major setback for the country’s hard fought democracy and strike a devastating blow to a smooth transition to another democratically elected government for the fourth successive time since the return of democracy to Nigeria in 1999.
I therefore urge President Jonathan to remain committed to his promise not to relieve Jega of his duty as the chairman of INEC. The President should know that he is on the verge of making history. He should not be cajoled into doing something that posterity would judge and see him as one who wants power by all means. Besides, he should realise that whichever way the pendulum of victory swings to in these elections, he is a hero. Nigerians will always hold him in a very high esteem. It is to his credit that Nigerians cannot say for sure who would be winners in the forthcoming elections. This is in sharp contrast to the elections that were held in the country before 2011.
I remember my uncle telling me after the PDP presidential primaries prior to the 2007 elections that the late president Umaru Yar’Ardua would be the next president of Nigeria. Since then, It has been a one-way traffic for the ruling party, but now, the story is different, thanks to Jonathan.
Dennis Ofurum
Port Harcourt, Rivers State
dennisofurum@gmail.com,
08064958952
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