•Jega’s sack may claim 11 commissioners
Attahiru Jega’s feet are still kept to the fire by President Goodluck Jonathan’s foot soldiers who insist that he quit his job, or get sacked, despite denials by the Villa.
Jonathan reiterated during his media chat last month that he has the power to fire the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman if he fails to carry out his duties, but has since denied allegations that he wants to get rid of him in the run up to the vote.
What is not disputed is that the INEC will not extend the collection of PVCs beyond today, according to its Public Relations Officer, Taiwo Gbadegesin.
“There is not going to be an extension. You know there is an Electoral Act; even the extension we did we tried not to go against the Act,” he insisted in an exclusive interview with TheNiche.
He explained that the INEC has supplied all PVCs to collection centres but “many people are not just ready to go and collect their cards because some people just registered for registering sake.
“The success we recorded so far was made possible because the parties also mobilised their members to collect the cards.”
Even if the collection date was extended, he added, it may not accomplish much because some people may have relocated from where they registered or even died.
If Jega goes, about 11 INEC national commissioners loyal to him may lose their jobs.
Jega was appointed in June 2010 and it was he who announced Jonathan winner of the 2011 ballot. His tenure, lasting five years, expires in June 2015 but is renewable for another period of five years.
Political risk for Jonathan
It is politically risky for Jonathan to instigate his sack close to the polls on March 28 and April 11 as political adversaries, civil society groups, as well as the international community will smell a rat.
However, some who are close to Jonathan are strident in calling for Jega’s head.
They include Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose; former Anambra State Governor, Chukwuemeka Ezeife; former Information Minister, Edwin Clark; and Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) leader, Ralph Uwazuruike.
They are joined by some political parties and civil society groups.
However, investigation by TheNiche showed that seeing the back of Jega before March 28 may also claim the jobs of about 11 INEC national commissioners who assumed duty around the same time as Jega.
His traducers want him to proceed on terminal leave at least three months before the end of his tenure, in keeping with the civil service rule. But those on his side insist he is not a civil servant.
Jega’s loyalists
When Jega’s spokesman, Kayode Idowu, was contacted to confirm whether Jega is under pressure to resign, he said: “It is an idle talk.” When pressed further, he said: “I can’t join that conversation.”
However, if the antagonists prevail, INEC national commissioners who may also proceed on terminal leave include Chris Iyimoga, Lawrence Nwuruku, Mohammed Wali, Nuhu Yakubu, Aminu Zakari, Gladys Nwafor, Telma Iremiren, Abubakar Oniyangi, Ishmail Igbani, Lai Olorode, and M. K. Hamanga.
They are said to be in solidarity with Jega, insisting that he does not deserve to be disgraced from office.
A source alleged that some of them were wooed to join the campaign to fire Jega but declined, arguing that the work the INEC has done in the past five years is a collective effort, not that of Jega alone.
“Those who are vilifying Jega do not understand how the commission works under his watch. Every decision is collectively taken. It is not a one man show as they are trying to paint the picture to the public,” the source said.
APC, PDP back and forth
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the Presidency and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of plotting Jega’s sack in order to rig the elections. This has led to hot exchanges between the parties.
APC spokesman, Lai Mohammed, said while the APC “and definitely most Nigerians” expect nothing less than very transparent elections, indications are that those at the helm of affairs “have grown so desperate that they do not even want the elections to hold.
“And even if the elections must hold at all, they must be held on their own terms: No PVCs (Permanent Voter Cards), No card readers, No Jega, and the military must be deployed to intimidate voters!”
Mohammed alleged that both the Presidency and the PDP “plot to transfer a humongous amount of money into the bank account of [Jega] and then claim that the money came from Bola Tinubu and the APC in order to justify the ongoing plan to sack Jega so he won’t organise the elections.”
Fayose as attack dog
But Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, a PDP hawk, dismissed the outcry of the APC as a “mere comedy” because “Jonathan can sack Jega if he wishes, and if he does, heavens will not fall.”
Fayose said in a statement he issued through his media aide, Lere Olayinka, that the APC should stop acting as if it owns Nigeria.
“By turning themselves to advocates and defenders of [Jega] the APC and its agents have shown that they have a deal with [him] to manipulate the elections and that the deal will be frustrated if he is asked to leave office.”
The “removal of Jega and any other appointees of the federal government is a prerogative of the president, which no one can question, provided laid down rules are followed,” said the statement, which was titled, “Jega Will Go, Heavens Won’t Fall.”
He described Jega as partisan, saying, “By his actions and utterances, Jega had already demonstrated his bias in support of the APC.
“For instance, how can Jega explain the 80 per cent distribution of (PVCs) in Boko Haram ravaged Borno and Yobe States while less than 40 per cent was distributed in Lagos as of February 7.”
Fayose recalled that former INEC Chairman, Maurice Iwu, was asked to proceed on terminal leave two months to the end of his (second) tenure.
“Is Jega not a beneficiary of Iwu’s removal? So if Iwu was asked to go on terminal leave before the expiration of his tenure for Jega to assume office, what difference does it make if Jega too is asked to proceed on terminal leave before the expiration of his tenure?”
In Fayose’s view, it is the president who can determine “whether or not Jega will go on the mandatory three months’ terminal leave which should commence on March 8, and if the president decides that [he] should go on terminal leave, what can the APC loudmouths do?
“They boasted before the postponement of the elections that they would go on street protests, but did they do anything? They made noise when Justice Isa Ayo Salami was removed from office as President of the Court of Appeal, what did their noise amount to?
“Therefore, let me say it categorically that the noise being made by the APC and their agents will amount to nothing because if the president removes Jega today, heavens will not fall.”
Amid the back and forth between the APC and PDP, the INEC explained the computation error that caused discrepancy of about 83,645 in the total 68,833,476 registered voters.
Safety of INEC personnel
Its National Commissioner for Information and Chairman of Voter Education Publicity Committee, Chris Iyimoga, clarified in Abuja that computation on the Microsoft Excel sheet is ordinarily expected to be precise.
But “I will not lie on what I do not understand” because the computation may not have come out well.
He added: “I know that when people use Excel sheets, arithmetical computations should be exact. With this observation, the best I can do is get in touch with the ICT [department] so that they can give us an explanation for that. I won’t dare tell you a lie on what I do not understand.
“I want to believe that it is a computation that did not come out well. We will look at this please.”
Iyimoga disclosed that the INEC has taken delivery of the remaining one million PVCs from the card producers, which Jega told the Senate were yet to be received about two weeks ago.
He also spoke on the PVCs, of which he said 55,232,875 have been distributed, amounting to 80.2 per cent of the total 68,833,476 registered voters.
His words: “Let me make this very clear, and I want you to take me by my word. The commission has made the commitment that by the 8th of this month, which is Sunday [today], we are likely to say the collections of PVC should stop.
“The commission is also going to be in a position to make a categorical statement about when these PVCs are to be distributed finally because we have told this nation that we still have about a million which we expect this week.
“I spoke with the director of ICT (information communication technology) and he said he has got in and we will see what time we give for those who are yet to collect theirs.”
Card reader test run
Iyimoga equally spoke on the test run of card readers in 12 states, which TheNiche reported exclusively on March 1.
He explained that the Smart Card Readers (SCRs) had been satisfactorily tested before the ballot was postponed last month but there is need for a more rigorous field testing before the new election dates.
States selected for the exercise from the six zones are Kano and Kebbi (North West); Bauchi and Taraba (North East); Niger and Nasarawa (North Central); Ekiti and Lagos (South West); Anambra and Ebonyi (South East); Delta and Rivers (South South).
Fashakin warns Jonathan over Jega
Meanwhile, Buhari’s spokesman, Rotimi Fashakin, said Jonathan should be prepared to contend with the whole world if he dares to sack Jega at this crucial moment.
“There are certain things that are spontaneous. They too know that. They have a whole mountain to climb,” he warned.
“Punch was very emphatic in its editorial yesterday (Thursday, March 5) that whatever happens in terms of backlash with that infamous decision, the whole international community should hold Goodluck Jonathan accountable.”
Fashakin wondered why anyone would be asking Jega to proceed on terminal leave at a time the country needs him to perform a crucial assignment.
“The issue of terminal leave, even in civil service, is optional. It happens if you have not taken your leave over time. The appointment of Jega is not the typical civil service appointment.
“Jega heads a special institution under Section 155 of the Constitution. The terms are quite clear. He cannot just be sacked. He can only be impeached, and can only be impeached by two-thirds majority of the Senate.
“The president knows that. He can only facilitate Jega’s appointment, he cannot unilaterally sack him. So, to now go through the backdoor to tell him to go on a pre-retirement leave when he has not asked for it, when there is a huge national assignment he needs to do within the next one month, that is rigging.”
