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.”