PDP accuses Jega of meeting APC leaders in Dubai

The Peoples Democratic Party on
Wednesday raised fresh allegations
aiming at discrediting the National
Chairman of the Independent
National Electoral Commission, Prof.
Attahiru Jega, over the conduct of
the elections.
At a crowded press conference in
Abuja, the Director of Media and
Publicity of the PDP Presidential
Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi
Fani-Kayode, alleged that Jega had
meetings with some unnamed
leaders of the main opposition
party, the All Progressives
Congress, in Dubai, United Arab
Emirates.
But the commission said it was not
in its character to join issues with
political parties.
The Chief Press Secretary to the
Chairman of the commission, Mr.
Kayode Idowu, said this when
contacted to react to the allegation.
Idowu said, “INEC doesn’t join
issues with political parties,
because the commission is a
dispassionate umpire.”
However, the National Publicity
Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai
Mohammed, dismissed the
allegation as utter nonsense and
irritable.
Speaking in a telephone interview
with one of our correspondents on
Wednesday, Mohammed said, “I’m
in Abuja with some of our leaders.
Baba Bisi Akande is here, Alhaji
Atiku Abubakar is here, former
Governor Kayode Fayemi is here.
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is in Lagos.
“No leader of the APC is outside the
country. So, tell me who is Jega
meeting? Is it members of our NEC?
Not one of our leaders is outside
the country. This people are
paranoid. We are preparing for our
NEC meeting. We have some of our
governors here. The PDP is
paranoid.”
But Fani-Kayode also alleged that
the meeting was aimed at making
sure that those who had yet to get
the Permanent Voter Cards were
denied the opportunity of
receiving them.
The former Minister of Aviation put
the number of those voters at 23
million.
Fani-Kayode added that the
commission was scheming out
voters in states and areas where he
said supporters of the ruling party
were.
Besides, he alleged that the PVCs
were still at China and had yet to be
imported to Nigeria.
He said, “Pieces of information at
our disposal have shown that Jega
has had meetings with the APC
stalwarts in Dubai and other cities
in the world to perfect this wanton
conspiracy against 23 million
eligible voters.
“Besides, we have information that
the PVCs that Nigerians are
scrambling for are not in Nigeria
and will not arrive before the
elections.
“These PVCs are still in China and
Jega has strategically delayed their
arrival to suit his electioneering
permutations.”
Asked to provide proof about the
alleged Dubai meeting, Fani-
Kayode refused.
Fani-Kayode however said that Jega
must also show Nigerians proof
that the Chinese company printing
the PVCs had been paid in full by
disclosing the total contract sum
and the amount paid to date.
He also demanded that Jega should
show proof of arrival or expected
date of arrival of all PVCs for the
elections and that he should
equally tell Nigerians how he could
have distributed 23 million PVCs
within five days to election if there
hadn’t been postponement.
He said it was wrong for the
commission to have claimed that
the election was shifted due to
insecurity, adding that the electoral
body was not fully ready for the
election.
“The matter is that INEC has failed
in its responsibility to produce and
distribute PVCs to about 34 per cent
of registered voters who would
require the cards to vote in the
elections.
“This brings us to the issue of
statistics of PVC distribution and
collection which we believe Jega,
as a person acting in concert with
some forces of retrogression, is
playing games with.
“We express our concerns today
that Jega may have decided to aid
the APC to rig the forthcoming
elections through the manipulation
of the production, distribution and
collection of PVCs, such that
emerging trends have consistently
shown calculated attempts to
deprive parts of the country that
would traditionally vote for
President Jonathan of their PVCs.”