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| Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, and his Kwara State counterpart, Abdulfatah Ahmed |
The Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, and his Kwara State counterpart, Abdulfatah Ahmed, have described the plot to remove the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, as dangerous.
Speaking with one of our correspondents on Sunday, Aregbesola said that the plot reflected desperation on the part of the Peoples Democratic Party-led Federal Government.
He said, “It is obvious that they (PDP) are desperate. A desperate person is a dangerous person. This country is bigger than anybody.
“They have postponed elections. They are planning an interim government, they are engaging in all manners of scheming. They are showing acute desperation. With all these undemocratic and uncivil acts, they are leading Nigeria to the path of turmoil.
“The whole world must be told that they must be held responsible for whatever happens to Nigeria. Why can’t they allow the ordered election timetable to go on as planned and, through that, allow democracy to grow in our land?”
Also, Ahmed urged President Goodluck Jonathan to consider the negative impacts the planned removal of Jega would have on the forthcoming general elections.
He warned that the move to remove Jega before the elections could give the impression of attempts to undermine the transparency and credibility of the March 28 and April 11 polls.
He spoke in an interview with journalists in Ilorin on Sunday on the sidelines of the ongoing campaign/consultative meeting with some stakeholders in Kwara State.
The governor reminded the Federal Government to take into cognisance, the attention of the international community, saying that any action to remove Jega would make the general elections lack credibility.
He stated that it would be plausible to allow Jega to conduct the elections whose process he had already started.
Ahmed said, “The sensitivity of the role of Jega in today’s electoral process is so crucial that we cannot handle his exit with levity, especially as the current electoral process is drawing a lot of attention both locally and internationally.
“So, it is very important that we ensure that the right things are done to ensure that this electoral process is allowed to follow its course as encapsulated in the new timetable, both the umpire and the processes are allowed to go on accordingly.
“We are aware that some stakeholders are not comfortable with Jega’s preparedness for the election. We have seen how attempts have been made in picking holes with the current arrangement which has been adjudged to be better than the preparation we had in 2011.
“But be that as it may, the consequence of replacing him is like changing the rules in the middle of the game which I think will affect negatively people’s perception to the seriousness in ensuring a proper electoral process and ultimately good governance in Nigeria.”
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Drugs, Narcotics, Financial Crimes and Anti-Corruption, Senator Victor Lar, on Sunday, clarified that the meeting held by the PDP senators last week in Asokoro, Abuja, did not discuss any issue relating to the fate of Jega.
Lar told one of our correspondents that the meeting was held in the residence of the Senate leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, to discuss how to secure the party’s and Presidency’s support for members.
He said the meeting looked into how the PDP senators would present a common front before the party and President Jonathan so that adequate support would be given to those who are contesting and how those not contesting would be relevant in the next dispensation.
Lar boasted that the PDP senators would beat all their opponents through the ballot and not by trying to cause confusion in INEC.
He said, “There is no such move either among the PDP senators or members of the party in the House of Representatives to set the top officials of INEC against Jega as being alleged by the opposition APC
“By the way, how did the APC know that INEC commissioners have issues with Jega? The APC should not involve itself in self delusion. The party is giving an impression that only Jega can conduct a free and fair poll in the country. It is not true.
“Jega is an appointee of the Federal Government and President Jonathan who reserves the right to remove or retain him, has said he had no plans to sack him before the elections.
“The APC senators should know that they cannot win elections by making grave allegations that have no substance. Majority of the noise makers among them may not even have the Permanent Voter Cards.
“Our meeting held last week not in any hotel but in the residence of the Senate Leader in Asokoro. It did not discuss anything that has to do with Jega but on how to guarantee the continued relevance of our colleagues who are not contesting the National Assembly election.
“The meeting also fashioned out strategies to secure support for the members who are contesting the election on the party’s platform and the Presidency so that they could be victorious.”
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