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.
According to Punch Newspaper , 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, 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. CLICK HERE TO READ FULL AND TOUCHING NIGERIAN CELEBRITIES BIOGRAPHY AND SCANDALS
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