The Federal Government might
have shortlisted four national
commissioners to take over from
Prof. Attahiru Jega as the Chairman
of the Independent National
Electoral Commission.
SUNDAY PUNCH reliably learnt that
Jega might be asked to hand over
to one of the commissioners in INEC
and also proceed on a three-month
terminal leave.
During a presidential media chat on
February 11, President Goodluck
Jonathan had reassured Nigerians
that he had no plan to remove the
INEC chairman from office. The
President’s reassurance came at a
time when speculation was rife
that government had perfected
plans to remove Jega. But some
stakeholders who spoke after the
interview had dismissed the
President’s reassurances as
needless, adding that the laws of
the land do not confer on the
president powers to remove the
INEC chairman.
Speaking at a press conference on
Friday, the Supervising Minister of
Information, Mr. Edem Duke, had
also said the President had no plan
to sack Jega.
“On the issue of the INEC chairman, I
align myself with what the
President said that he has no plan
to sack the INEC chairman.
“That is not to say that if it is time
for the INEC chairman to naturally
exit his office, then the natural
course of things will not take place.
“It is like saying a civil servant has
done 35 years or achieved the age
of 60; we now begin to say that he
must not retire or he must retire,”
Duke had said.
However, the minster drew
parallels between Jega’s conditions
of service and those of civil
servants, reigniting speculation
that the Presidency might go ahead
with the plan to remove Jega.
Earlier, there had been reports that
Prof. Femi Mimiko, brother of the
Governor of Ondo State, Olusegun
Mimiko, had been pencilled in for
the position but investigations by
our correspondents showed that
the former Vice Chancellor of
Adekunle Ajasin University, Ondo
State was no longer in contention.
Sources said the national
commissioners that might take
over from Jega could come from a
list made up of Dr. Mohammed Wali
from Sokoto State, Mrs. Amina
Zakari from Jigawa State, Colonel
Mohammed Kurmi Hammanga (rtd.)
from Adamawa State and Dr.
Ishmael Igbani from Rivers State.
It was learnt that the person that
would take over would act as
chairman till June 30 when the
tenure of Jega would expire.
The Federal Government, it was
learnt, had decided against
appointing an ‘outsider’ because
preparations for the elections had
reached an advanced stage.
Investigations further showed that
the FG had yet to decide on
whether to appoint the acting
chairman from the North-West,
where Jega hails from or to take the
post to another zone.
It was learnt that Wali and Zakari
were shortlisted because they
hailed from the North-West.
Igbani and Hammanga were
included on the list because of the
argument among some top
government officials that the INEC
chairmanship should not be
subjected to the principle of
zoning.
A top Federal Government official,
who confided in SUNDAY PUNCH on
Saturday, said, “None of the
commissioners have been
informed because the government
has not decided whether to retain
the post in the North-West or take
it to another zone.
“The terminal leave letter that the
All Progressives Congress senators
were talking about has not been
written, but I cannot deny the fact
that government wants Jega to
proceed on terminal leave.
“Anytime the letter is written and
Jega gets it, it will contain the
name of the person he will hand
over to.”
It was learnt that the government
officials, who advocated that one of
the INEC commissioners should be
appointed, argued that with less
than three weeks to the elections,
getting Jega’s replacement from
outside of the commission could be
complicated.
A top government official, who is
privy to the discussions in
government circles in relating to
Jega’s fate, said, “Time is of the
essence. The truth is, if you bring
someone from outside, he or she
will need time to understand the
place and know what is happening.
It will be difficult for such a person
to fully understand what is on the
ground.
“However, if we get someone who
is already within the system, it will
be easier for the person to identify
areas where errors were made and
correct them within the time left.
“There are also those who are
making a case for a neutral person.
This set of people argue that after
all, Jega himself was brought in
from outside and he did a good job
of the 2011 elections.”
Several calls and a text message to
the Special Assistant (Media and
Communications) to the Secretary
to the Government of the
Federation, Mr. Sam Nwaobasi,
were not replied. Reports have said
Jega’s terminal leave letter was
written by the SGF.
Also, attempts to reach the Special
Adviser to the President on Political
Matters Prof. Rufai Alkali and the
Senior Special Assistant to the
President on Public Affairs, Dr.
Doyin Okupe were unsuccessful.
Calls to their mobile phone
indicated that it was unreachable. A
response to text messages sent to
them were still being awaited as of
the time of filing this report.
Similarly, the Special Adviser to the
President on Media and Publicity,
Dr. Reuben Abati, could not be
reached as his telephone lines
were not connecting.
Explain why you don’t want Jega
sacked, PDP tells APC
Meanwhile, the Peoples
Democratic Party has challenged
the APC to explain its link with the
Chairman of the Independent
National Electoral Commission.
The PDP National Publicity
Secretary, Mr. Olisa Metuh, in a
statement in Abuja on Saturday,
said it was more than curious that
the APC had allegedly continued to
fabricate stories and show undue
interest in Jega.
He said, “Undoubtedly, the frenzy,
hysteria and spate with which the
APC has been inventing stories
regarding Prof. Jega’s stay in office
even when nothing suggests that
such was on the table, raise a lot of
issues.
“We ask, is there any underlining
issue or arrangement between the
APC and Prof. Jega which the
opposition is hell-bent on
protecting and informing its
anxiety and apprehension towards
his stay in office?
“While it is noted that the APC is a
party of one week, one lie, we in
the PDP look beneath the surface
to the deeper issues propelling the
lies.
“We therefore challenge the APC to
come clean and tell Nigerians the
real reason behind their false
alarms and uncontrolled
nervousness regarding Prof. Jega
ahead of the 2015 general
elections.
“Finally, we wish to remind the
leadership of INEC that Nigerians
are monitoring its activities and
series of unfolding political events
ahead of the elections, and will not
accept anything less than the
conduct of credible, free and fair
general elections come March 28
and April 11, 2015.”
Reacting to these, the APC said
President Goodluck Jonathan and
the PDP are not interested in the
2015 elections.
National Publicity Secretary of the
party, Mr. Lai Mohammed, said this
in response to an e-mail sent to
him by SUNDAY PUNCH, on Saturday.
Mohammed, who is in London on an
official assignment said, “The plain
truth is President Jonathan and the
PDP don’t want elections at all.
“If Jega is removed, his successor
will simply claim that as a new
helmsman, he should be given
more time to prepare for the
elections. Therefore we don’t want
Jega removed because we don’t
want elections postponed again.
There is no other ulterior motive.
“Is it not strange that President
Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP
who appointed Prof. Jega and
praised his handling of all elections
since he came on board as
transparent is now suddenly afraid
of him and want him out by all
means.”
Alleged terminal leave, illegal —
Falana, Ubani
In their separate reactions, rights
lawyers, including Mr. Femi Falana
(SAN), insisted that President
Goodluck Jonathan lacked the
power to either sack Jega, or send
him on a terminal leave. A former
chairman of the Nigerian Bar
Association, Mr. Monday Ubani, and
Mr. Malachy Ugwummadu, also
spoke to SUNDAY PUNCH in separate
interviews.
They cited provisions of Section 158
of the constitution as providing
that the INEC Chairman could only
be sacked with the approval of two-
third majority of the members of
the Senate.
Falana also explained that Section
155 of the constitution conferred
independence on the INEC
chairman with immunity from any
directive or influence from any
person or authority.
The senior advocate said, “At his
last presidential chat, the president
gave the erroneous impression
that he could hire and fire the
chairman of INEC. With profound
respect, that is not correct.
“By virtue of Section 155 of the
constitution, the INEC chairman has
a renewable five-year tenure. The
appointment and removal has to be
by the resolution of no less than a
two-third majority of the Senate.
“Before the resolution is passed,
the President will need to address
the Senate and justify the reasons
on the need to remove the INEC
chairman on account of his inability
to discharge his duties.
“On the issue of sending Jega on
terminal leave, the President has
no power to do that because once
appointed, the INEC chairman is not
subject to the control or directive
of any power or authority by virtue
of Section 158 of the constitution.”
On his part, Ugwummadu, said
beyond the constitutional
provisions conferring immunity
against undue influence on the
INEC chairman, Nigerians were
paying close attention to any plot
to remove the INEC boss.
He said, “The idea of sacking Prof.
Attahiru Jega has been making the
rounds and should be watched
carefully just as we have remained
circumspect regarding the further
shift of the elections.”
Ubani threatened to personally
lead a “nationwide crusade”
against the President should there
be any attempt by his
administration to remove Jega,
having earlier publicly promised
that he (President Jonathan) had no
such intention.
In the same vein, the President,
Nigeria Voters Assembly, Mashood
Erubami, the Nigeria Voters
Assembly condemned the alleged
move to ask Jega to go on terminal
leave.
The group in a release signed by its
President, Mr. Mashood Erubami,
strongly warned that the removal
of Jega would show that the
Federal Government had a hidden
agenda.
by ROTMANLUV 2023-07-08, 17:34
