Jega

Senators, Reps, INEC chiefs join plot against Jega

Posted by: Yusuf Alli in Featured, News 6 hours ago

•Plot to pit commissioners against Jega
•Commission chair summons RECs for evaluation meeting on Wednesday

Some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members in the National Assembly have launched a bid to pit top officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) against the commission’s chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega.

It is the latest of alleged moves by the party to destabilise INEC as the nation prepares for the March 28 and April 11 elections.

The plot, The Nation gathered, will see several officials, including commissioners, confront Jega on official matters   with a view to creating a crisis of confidence in the agency, and distracting its attention ahead of the polls.

A meeting to perfect the plan took place recently  at a posh hotel in the Asokoro District of Abuja.

Present at the dead of the night meeting discussion were several influential members of the National Assembly and some INEC officials.

They were said to have reviewed mainly Jega’s ‘uncompromising attitude’ on the use of card readers and the Permanent Voter Cards (PVC).

The PDP does not want both to be used during the elections.

It was gathered that some forces in the party got the National Assembly members to meet the INEC officials on how to frustrate Jega.

Some INEC commissioners were card-carrying members of the PDP before their appointment, according to sources.

A source familiar with the development said:  “Some forces are working desperately to break the rank of the commission before the general election. I think some past officials of INEC are part of the plot.

“What they are planning now is to cause disaffection between Jega and his team in order to show that INEC is not ready for the general election.

“If they force Jega out before the poll, the nation will lose because the credibility of the general election would have been lost.”

An INEC director said the meeting was an open secret.

But he said Jega remains unmoved and is focused on conducting free and fair elections.

“We got a phone alert about the said meeting but since Jega has nothing to hide, we did not respond to the move,” the INEC director said.

“What is important is that we are focused on how to conduct free and fair polls.”

The Abuja meeting may have been an alternative to the initial move to sack Jega.

Top members of the PDP including the president’s confidant, Chief Edwin Clark, and the president’s campaign organisation had openly demanded Jega’s sack for allegedly working against the interest of the party and its flag bearer.

The call was roundly condemned across the country.

Only last Thursday, APC senators alleged at a press conference in Abuja that there was a plan by the federal government to send Jega on terminal leave this week even when his tenure will end on June 30.

Asked about government’s position on Jega’s fate last Friday, the acting Minister of Information, Edem Duke, only said Jega’s exit will “take its natural course.”

However, an INEC national commissioner told The Nation that contrary to the permutations of the anti-Jega forces, his tenure will end on June 30, 2015.

He said Jega is not contemplating going on terminal leave because he is not a career civil servant who is about retiring from public service.

“There is so much ignorance about the exit date of Jega. He is expected to leave office on June 30 and he will complete his tenure two months after the general election.

“ Jega is also not contemplating going on any terminal leave because this is not an assignment you retire from. The position of INEC chairman is that it will be irresponsible of him to abandon his duties for a strange terminal leave which he is not supposed to enjoy any way.

“Jega is not even drawing his salary from INEC in order to remain impartial and avoid being compromised.”

He said there is need to explain these perspectives to enable Nigerians appreciate the fact that some people are just out to distract INEC from its electoral duties.

Meanwhile, INEC chairman has summoned all the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in the 36 states and the FCT for a meeting to evaluate the preparation for the general election.

The meeting might review the distribution of the Permanent Voters Cards(PVCs), the status of the training of ad hoc staff for  the use of Card Readers and logistics for the election.

It was learnt that Jega invited the RECs for a session on Wednesday in order to get an update on the preparation for the poll.

INEC has about 27 days to put everything in shape. This is why Jega is meeting with his team to avoid any slip.

Any REC with unresolved challenges can now feel free to draw the attention of the commission to these problems before the D-Day.

A document released by the Chief Press Secretary to INEC chairman, Mr. Kayode Robert Idowu, said the commission  might conduct mock election to test-run the card readers at least two states in each of the six geopolitical zones in the country.

The document said: “The Card Reader units have been broadly subjected to simulation Quality Assurance, Integrity and Functionality tests and INEC has full confidence in their performance for election purposes.

“The device has also been subjected to Performance and Conformance Test, both locally and in Texas, United States laboratories by the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Research Centre and found to be of the highest quality grade. Besides all these, and with additional time resulting from the rescheduling of the 2015 general elections, the Commission has directed that Stress Test be conducted on the Card Reader device in mock election scenarios – two states in each of the six geo-political zones – ahead of the new election dates.”

The commission is poised to  release the list of the 12 states for the  mock election on or before Wednesday