Attahiru Jega is in troubled waters, a view canvassed by his detractors who allege that he is no longer neutral and is out to cheat for the North in the coming presidential ballot.
Prof Attahiru Jega, INEC chairman.
Politicians, particularly Southerners, say they are not happy with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman and are screaming for his immediate resignation, or sack, for planning to allocate more polling units to the North for the elections in February 2015.
In the past one week, the media have been awash with protests from different groups over the allocation of new polling units, which will see the South East being the worst with about 1,000 units, compared – for example – with the over 8,000 for the North West.
First salvo
The first salvo was fired two weeks ago by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South East when the leaders raised an alarm after a meeting in Enugu. Ever since, a cacophony of battle cries has targeted Jega’s head.
One of his critics is former Anambra State Governor, Chukwuemeka Ezeife, who declared that Jega’s plan is akin to a coup against the Igbo in particular and the South in general.
He alleged that Jega has been armed with a pro-Northern script to rig the 2015 presidential election against President Goodluck Jonathan, a Southerner, in favour of a Northern candidate.
“The South as a whole has taken a position that Jega must go and we are not changing our mind on that,” Ezeife stated.
“By the action of Jega, the 2015 election has been rigged in favour of some people, against President Goodluck Jonathan.
“How can the North West have over 8,000 new polling units and the entire South East gets a mere 1,000 units, the same figure for Zamfara and the FCT (Federal Capital Territory). That is impossible.”
SNPA says Jega acting out Northern script
Among groups now in their trenches is the Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly (SNPA), which membership is drawn mainly from delegates to the recent national conference, among them Edwin Clark, former Vice President, Alex Ekwueme, and Senator Femi Okurounmu.
On Thursday, September 11, the SNPA issued a statement in Abuja demanding the removal of Jega, saying he has lost credibility.
The SNPA questioned the rationale behind increasing polling units when the number of registered voters has reduced from 70 million to 57 million.
“As plausible as these reasons may sound,” the statement added, “the voodoo and arbitrary allocation of polling units, the people of Southern Nigeria and indeed the Southern Nigerian Peoples Assembly, view this invidious act as a script crafted for Jega to implement, in continuation of the well-known hegemonic agenda, by the enemies of our hard-won democracy.
“The people of Southern Nigeria are not only appalled, but also strongly reject Jega’s claims and averment, whatever persuasions may have motivated this callous, insensitive, disparate, oppressive and inconsonant decision to give the North a clear political advantage over the South, contrary to the reality on ground.
“If this concocted manipulation of polling units is his clever design to give undue political advantage to the North, having in mind the 2015 presidential election, we wish to remind him that he has failed in his decrepit mission.”
Another group, the South South Media Professionals Forum (SSMPF), warned Jega to exercise caution over the distribution of new polling units, which it alleged showed bias and prejudice against the South.
A statement issued by SSMPF Director of Publicity, Ambrose Sule, alleged “a wicked plan to empower a particular region by all means crooked against the South.”
Jega denies allegation
Jega countered at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, September 10, that he is not a religious or ethnic jingoist, saying the plan is borne out of need rather than politics.
He insisted that the new units would not give political advantage to any zone.
His words: “INEC’s decision to re-configure the structure of polling units and create additional ones is driven by our collective aspirations as Nigerians to reform and improve upon the electoral process for free, fair, peaceful and credible elections next year and beyond.
“There is no sectional or parochial agenda in this decision and there will never be any such agenda under this commission.
“They know my antecedents. I am not a religious jingoist. It is only those who do not want progress, who are accusing us. Nigeria must move forward. We must not allow our fear to imprison us.”