An insight has been provided into the
debate at the National Council of
State meeting of February 5, 2015
where the issue of whether or not the
general election should be postponed
was extensively discussed.
Writing in his column in THISDAY on
Thursday, celebrated journalist and
former presidential adviser Olusegun
Adeniyi, revealed that contrary to
media reports, the council did not
direct Attahiru Jega, chairman of the
Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC), to go ahead with
the polls.
He gave an account of the positions
of President Goodluck Jonathan and
Muhamamdu Buhari, the respective
presidential candidates of the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and
All Progressives Congress (APC), on
the postponement.
Adeniyi, who served the late
President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua as
special adviser on media and
publicity, also gave details of the
contributions of Ibrahim Babangida,
former military president, as well as
Babatunde Fashola, governor of
Lagos state, and Liyel Imoke,
governor of Cross River state.
Rochas Okorocha, governor of Imo
state and a member of the APC had
told the media that the council gave
INEC the go-ahead to hold the
election.
But Segun Mimiko, governor of Ondo
state and a member of the PDP, had
earlier told the media that INEC was
asked to decide on whether or not to
hold the elections as scheduled.
Adeniyi wrote: “At the meeting, Jega
presented his report, reiterating that
he was ready for the polls. The first
person to speak after his
presentation was the NSA, (Sambo)
Dasuki, who harped on the renewed
efforts by the Multinational Forces to
dislodge the Boko Haram insurgents
and the need to shift the elections
forward. The service chiefs and the
Director General of the Directorate of
State Security (DSS) followed with
similar presentations.
“With the floor now open for
discussion, Buhari was the first to
fire a salvo against the idea to have
the elections rescheduled. He said all
the reasons adduced by the military
do not warrant postponing the
elections, especially when, according
to him, soldiers have minimal role to
play in the election process.
“With Buhari done, the Lagos State
Governor, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola,
SAN, presented what appeared a
detailed position of the APC as to
why the elections had to go ahead.
He looked at the possible
implications of such a postponement
from both the legal and political
prisms, with the conclusion that it
would not bode well for the country
and the president.
“However, the Cross River State
Governor, Mr Liyel Imoke countered
Fashola’s arguments with what also
appeared the PDP position as he
went beyond the issue of Boko
Haram to that of the preparedness of
INEC. Some of the issues he raised
included the ‘lopsidedness’ in the
distribution of PVCs nationwide, the
fact that the Card Readers to be
used by INEC had yet to be tested
and that the electoral officials to use
them have not even been trained.
“At that point, according to sources,
Jega sought to respond and was
given the floor. He explained that
most of the misgivings being
expressed have been factored into
INEC plans. He, however, added that
it was unrealistic to expect a hundred
percent turn-out of voters at
elections as there is no such thing
anywhere in the world. To this, the
Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr
Godswill Akpabio, reportedly
countered that Jega was wrong.”
Akpabio, according to Adeniyi, said
there is a difference between people
“who may choose not to vote even if
they have PVCs and those who
cannot vote because they have been
denied what ordinarily should be their
rights. He said elections cannot be
credible in situations where millions
of people could not get what would
enable them to exercise their
franchise”.
The popular columnist continued: “In
asking INEC to go ahead with the
polls since the commission said it
was ready, Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Hon Aminu Waziri
Tambuwal, added that the advisory
role of the Council of State does not
extend to election matters. To that,
the president, who had evidently been
well-briefed, drew the attention of
Tambuwal and that of the meeting to
the Third Schedule (Part 1) of the
1999 Constitution, especially Section
B (6) which states that the Council of
State ‘shall have the power to (A)
advise the President in exercise of
his powers with respect to the…(4)
the Independent National Electoral
Commission (including appointment
of members of the commission).’
“In his own intervention, General
Ibrahim Babangida argued that since
INEC said it was ready for the polls,
the real issue before the Council was
on what to do about the four states
where the security agencies said they
needed more time to deal with the
insurgency. Babangida now asked
whether it was feasible to conduct
elections only in 32 states.
“The president interjected quickly
that such election would end in
fiasco. I have it on good authority
that some people in the
administration had suggested this
idea to Jega in November last year
and he said any such election that
excises a section of the country
would not pass the test of credibility
or even for that matter, legitimacy.
So the president knew that
succumbing to such an idea would be
politically suicidal for him and he
rejected it outright.
“However, from the way the meeting
went, it was evident that positions
had been taken along party lines. At
the end, the responsibility as to what
to decide was pushed to INEC but
the real drama was announcing the
‘decision’ arrived at because for all
practical purposes, nothing was
decided as to whether or not the
elections should go ahead or be
postponed.
“With Governors Olusegun Mimiko,
Rochas Okorocha and Bala Ngilari
asked to brief the media by the
president, the three rushed to the
press room to grab the centre chair.
Mimiko got there first and said no
decision was taken and that INEC
would consult and announce whether
to postpone the elections or not
which was the most accurate
position as to what transpired.
“However, immediately Mimiko stood
up and they all appeared to be
leaving, Okorocha grabbed the chair
that the Ondo State Governor had
been sitting on and also started to
brief the State House correspondents.
He said the Council had decided that
the elections should go ahead. While
that was not a true reflection of what
happened, that was the slant reported
in the media, which to be honest is a
reflection of the mood of the public.

http://www.thecable.ng/revealed-jonathan-buhari-ibb-fashola-said-council-state-meeting-poll-shift

where was amechi?

APC really need to grow up!

Smh!

It was obvious that Jega could not even defend his preparedness and yet APC came out of this meeting to mislead the public?

PDP in this election has been the grown up party and I am proud of how they have conducted themselves in this election season!

PDP is definitely modifying herself as the modern party that will lead this country to progress.

The media

a lot more revelations shall be unfolded..
we ain't seen nothing!

mikeansy:
APC really need to grow up!

Smh!

It was obvious that Jega could not even defend his preparedness and yet APC came out of this meeting to mislead the public?

PDP in this election has been the grown up party and I am proud of how they have conducted themselves in this election season!

PDP is definitely modifying herself as the modern party that will lead this country to progress.

PDP is the crooked party that is supervising INEC and they are nit ready for elections after four years of preparation. This was the same party that conducted governorship elections and some outstanding legislative elections successfully recently. The President is the Chief Security officer that could not solve the north east security problem in four years with $32bn spent and now is promising to solve it in six weeks.
When you post things like this you are being very shallow. When IBB annulled June12, it also sounded reasonable and logical but the truth was it was the most evil decision taken in Nigeria in contemporary Times. What if after six weeks the problem is not solved in the north east?.

but jona said he was not aware of the postponment

Adminisher:


PDP is the crooked party that is supervising INEC and they are nit ready for elections after four years of preparation. This was the same party that conducted governorship elections and some outstanding legislative elections successfully recently. The President is the Chief Security officer that could not solve the north east security problem in four years with $32bn spent and now is promising to solve it in six weeks.
When you post things like this you are being very shallow. When IBB annulled June12, it also sounded reasonable and logical but the truth was it was the most evil decision taken in Nigeria in contemporary Times. What if after six weeks the problem is not solved in the north east?.

Boko Haram will not disappear in 6 weeks. Nobody is pretending it would!

Around November last year I posted on a thread on this site that we need a military surge in the north east possibly with the help of regional forces so that the people of that region can take part in the democratic process. This is what is happening. The target is by 6 weeks we can retake Boko haram enclaves and have an atmosphere that allows people to vote.

Having the support of MJTF is enough reason to postpone the election to a date that is clearly within constitutional timelines to ensure the transition date of May 29th. We did not have the cooperation of MJTF before now for whatever reasons. But since Boko Haram is a cross boarder insurgent group the new approach gives us a unique opportunity to make progress. It is not too hard to expect the opposition to support the counter terrorism efforts.

On the subject of INEC this President has given Inec a free hand to operate as a truly independent institution and unbiased umpire to the extent that INEC even has the effrontery to engage in lopsided distribution of PVC to favour APC strongholds. So blaming PDP for what is a clear political schemings of INEC is simply being silly and dishonest.

PDP as the party in Government in an african Nation has an opportunity if they wish to attempt full blown dictatorship and undermine our aspirations for multiparty democracy. Instead this government is encouraging the strengthening of institutions, canvassing diverse views and giving Nigerians the right to be free and to choose.

It is APC who are in this election pursuing agenda that are anti-democratic! APC have not in this election conducted themselves with the grace that modern electioneering deserves. No decorum whatsoever. They have shown themselves to be mere thugs and rascals!

Hmmmm.

That dumbo governor of mine....always seeking attention even when it's downright silly to do so. Oh yes! I am talking about the Roach.

nke001:
where was amechi?

Dancing skelewu somewhere with wads of dollars dangling all over his pockets. The new Idi Amin