Attahiru Jega, a professor of political science, deployed superior logic to win the argument for holding the election as scheduled, with several members of the Council of State (CS) unable to press the agitation for postponement.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman stood his ground at the CS meeting in Aso Rock on Thursday, February 5 despite heavy pressure from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its allies.
A source close to some attendees said Jega reminded members of the CS that the election has to be conducted within the time frame provided by the Constitution and Electoral Act to factor in a possible presidential run off if no winner emerges on February 14.
“Jega insisted that February 14 was chosen so that if there is going to be a run off election, the INEC would have enough time to conduct it before the hand over date on May 29, 2015. He insisted that the INEC is ready for the elections,” said the source, who spoke anonymously.
The CS comprises the sitting president, former presidents and heads of state, current and former chief justices, Senate president, House of Representatives speaker, and governors. Its resolution is advisory, not legally binding on the executive.
Jega was said to be under intense pressure from the postponement camp even seconds before the meeting began, but refused to cave in.
Another source disclosed that All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, told President Goodluck Jonathan at the meeting that the election is between two of them and that it should hold as planned so that Nigerians can put it behind them and move on.
APC lauds INEC’s stance
Director of Media and Publicity Directorate of the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation, Garba Shehu, said in a statement that the decision of the CS rejecting the proposal to postpone the general election “is the triumph of the nation and its people over parochial individual and political interest.”
In his view, this vindicates the position of millions of Nigerians who are ready for the election and want to change the fortunes of the country for the better.
“We are heartened that a major crisis of political and constitutional nature has been averted which would have made Nigeria the laughing stock of the civilised world.
“The (INEC) has always said it is ready for the polls, likewise all the security and intelligence agencies, and more importantly, the Nigerian people, who are the voters. “It would have been a terrible disservice if, on the basis of personal interest, the elections were postponed.
“No nation learns all the lessons of democracy at once, thus it is the belief of our campaign that the INEC, the electoral umpire, still has the chance and is indeed determined and ready to organise credible polls next week and thereafter.
“We congratulate the masses of our people for the decision of the Council of State. This is a sure sign that the Nigerian people are ready to sacrifice to get back their country from the locusts which have turned it into a barren land,” Shehu added.
CAA faults INEC
But a group called Credible Alternative Alliance (CAA) faulted the insistence of the INEC conduct of the ballot as scheduled, alleging that it is tilting the distribution of permanent voter cards (PVCs) to favour the strongholds of Buhari.
CAA, led by former Governor of old Kaduna State, Balarabe Musa, said voters yet to get their PCVs are North East (2,429,763); North West (4,835,556); North Central (3,907,849); Federal Capital Territory, FCT (421,559); South East (3,287,530); South West (7,411,205); and South South (3,844,370).
CAA alleged “a criminal gross disparity of voter spread designed to tilt the election to a pre-determined outcome.”
It insisted that all the total 68.8 million registered voters must be given free access to collect their PVCs and cast their votes as provided for in the Constitution.
It threatened to sue the INEC to court if it fails to deliver.
Stay in the North, Okorocha tells Igbo
In his reaction Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, advised Igbo resident in the North to stay in their locations during the election, saying movement is necessary only if they are coming home to vote.
He urged them not to panic, assuring that the election will be peaceful, free, and fair.
Okorocha spoke after a meeting between leaders of APC and its National Assembly candidates in Abuja, where he dismissed reports that Buhari will pursue an Islamic agenda if elected.
He said the idea of Islamising Nigeria is propagated by the PDP, which he accused of dividing the country along ethnic and religious lines.
His words: “It is uncalled for to return home (to the South East). There is no need for it. The elections, as far as we are concerned, will be peaceful. Nigeria and Nigerians are only passing through a challenging period in their political history.
“That does not mean it will bring about a crisis. I do not think so. Unless for Igbo who have registered at home. They should come home to vote. But those who registered in the north should stay there.”
Protagonists and surrogates
Jonathan and Buhari are the main contenders in a field of 14 vying for the country’s top job.
By law, only the INEC can postponement election. But a group of parties banded together to demand a shift in date, despite the objection of the INEC.
They are the United Democratic Party (UDP), Citizen Peoples Party (CPP), Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN), Action Alliance (AA), Peoples Democratic Congress (PDC), Allied Party of Nigeria (ACPN), Labour Party (LP), Mega Progressive People’s Party (MPPP), and United Party of Nigeria (UPN).
They also include Alliance for Democracy (AD), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD), Democratic Peoples Party (DPP), New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN), and Independent Democrat (ID).
Abdulazeez Ibrahim, a lawyer based scoffed that the parties are surrogates of the PDP. “Why is the PDP not talking forcefully about poll shift? It is because their allies are speaking for them,” he said.
Johnson Kolawole, a human rights activist, said the political parties represent the villain of Nigerian democracy and urged Nigerians to ignore them.
But the parties claimed in their petition to the INEC that the election should be postponed because insecurity, the inability of the INEC to distribute all PVCs, and threats of violence.
However, the Coalition of Progressive Political Parties (COPP) comprising the PDM, APA, KOWA, MPPP, SDP, ADC, HDP, DPP, UPP and Accord Party, issued a statement insisting that the poll be held as planned.
“Our democracy has come of age and Nigerians are ready for change, WE WILL NOT ALLOW desperation and power-mongering to scuttle it and will do whatever is necessary to defend it and ensure that the general election holds as scheduled,” COPP said.
