President Goodluck Jonathan said on Wednesday that he had no plans to either suspend or remove the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, as being speculated.
Responding to questions during the Presidential Media Chat in Abuja, the president also said he had not told anyone that he had such plan to remove the INEC boss.
He said, as president, he had the right to appoint members of the electoral body or remove any of them if there were cogent reasons to do so, but that he was confident that the electoral umpire would midwife credible polls in 2015.
“INEC is a standing committee. If I think it is not fit to render credible polls, I have a right to remove any member of the commission.
“But I have not told anyone that I am going to remove Jega,’’ he said.
The president expressed displeasure with reports being circulated in the social media about the purported plans to replace the INEC boss and warned Nigerians to be wary of the kind of publications they came across.
The president blamed some media for publishing falsehood and deceiving the electorate, noting that less than 20 per cent of what people read in some media was the truth.
Jonathan also urged political office seekers to shun making provocative and inciting statements, to safeguard the peace in the country.
While not blaming the candidates for the excesses and violence recorded during the campaigns, the president said those behind the candidates were to blame.
“Some of the excesses are because of the behaviour of key actors behind the candidates,’’ he said, and advised such actors to have a change of heart.
Jonathan, however, added that although he was a candidate in the 2015 presidential polls, it was also his responsibility to protect the state.
“You must have a country before you become a president. If there is no Nigeria, there will not be a President of Nigeria.’’
On the defection of politicians to other parties, the president said the issue was rampant in the country because there was no judicial pronouncement to forestall it.
“What is happening in Nigeria is not good. In other countries there are consequences for defecting.
“Because the courts have not taken a decision, the defection is rampant.’’
On corruption, Jonathan said people should not confuse the term “stealing’’ with it, noting that “sometimes we use corruption to cover the lapses of government functionaries’’.
He criticised both stealing and corruption as vices but advised that people should communicate accurately to others in order not to confuse them.
According to him, the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission is the only agency set up in the country to deal with corruption and not the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission which deals purely with economic issues.
The president added that his administration had secured more convictions over corruption than previous administrations, adding that its objective was to remove the existing windows for stealing.
“Do not put things where people will steal. With ICT we can do a lot of things. That is why we are able to remove the stealing involved in fertiliser procurement,’’ he added.
President Jonathan said that if re-elected, he would be conscious of the people around him “so that they do not drag the image of the government to the mud’’.