Plot to remove Jega thickens

Less than two weeks to the presidential and National Assembly elections, agitations to have Professor Attahiru Jega removed as chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) seems to be getting hotter daily.

A socio cultural group in the south west part of the country, the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) has joined the campaign to have the electoral boss removed from office.

The group in collaboration with the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation in Lagos on Monday led other protesters to storm the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, demanding the sacking of Jega before the March 28 elections

Last week, members of the pan-Biafran organisation, Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), marched round major streets of Enugu also calling for the removal of Jega.

Displaying placards of various inscriptions, the pro-Biafrans, most of were whom clad in navy blue uniform with the Biafran rising sun insignia assembled at Edinburgh Road, New Layout, from where they ‎trooped to the major streets of Enugu chanting solidarity songs.

led by their Enugu zonal chairmen, Mrs. Augustina Ugwuoke, Ben Ekwunugo and E. Ilogu, some of the placards read: “Jega must go”, “Jega has compromised”, “No election with Jega on seat”, “Jega is not impartial” etc.

In the Lagos protest, the campaign group and members of the OPC, who massed at the 7UP/Toll Gate end of the expressway, led the protesters, who were chanting anti-Jega songs, giving reasons why Jega should be sacked.

Some people, who were clad in black vest, said to be beneficiaries of the SURE-P, also constituted a sizable portion of the protesters.

Meanwhile, the INEC boss has reiterated the determination of the commission to use the card readers for the elections, saying the equipment will add value to the credibility of the polls.

He said the commission had used the period of the postponement to address the myriad of concerns about the card reader, adding that the body has satisfactorily conducted a quality assurance as well as field tests on the workability of the equipment, hence INEC’s determination to deploy it for the polls.

Speaking at a Town Hall meeting in Abuja, organised by Reinvent Media in conjunction with Ford Foundation and Kukah Centre, Jega hinted that the power of the military as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution (as amended), does not empower it to monitor elections.

While stating further that INEC was well prepared to conduct free, fair and credible elections in line with international best practices, Jega also declared that he was not under pressure to resign from office, just as he hinted that he had no intention of quitting his position.

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