Opponents of postponement of the February 14 and 28
elections won a major battle yesterday, with the Council of
State giving the green light for the exercise.
IndependentNational Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman
Prof. Attahiru Jega insisted on going ahead with the general
elections, stressing that the commission is better prepared
than it was in 2011.
It was a major victory for INEC. Ex-Heads of State and
Presidents lined up behind Jega and asked the nation to go
ahead with the polls.
Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, Alhaji
Shehu Shagari, Chief Ernest Shonekan, and Gen. Yakubu
Gowon supported the elections as scheduled.
The overwhelming backing for the elections “caught
President Goodluck Jonathan unawares”, a source at the
meeting said.
He (Dr. Jonathan) accused All Progressives Congress
(APC) governors of being partisan on a national issue.
According to the source at the over seven hours meeting at
the Presidential Villa, Jega stood his ground that the polls
will not be shifted.
The source said: “Jega told the leaders that INEC is ready
for the polls better than 2011. He said all logistics had been
put in place for a hitch-free exercise. He confirmed that all
sensitive materials, such as ballot papers, and non-
sensitive materials had been distributed.
“He said it was left for other agencies connected with the
conduct of the elections to discharge their duties.
“On the distribution of PVCs, Jega disclosed that more than
50 per cent of the 68.83m had been collected. At a point
when some people were hammering on PVCs, Jega
retorted: ‘The PVCs are available but I cannot commandeer
all the registered voters to go and collect their cards. I do
not think that non-collection of PVCs will amount to
disenfranchisement of voters.’
“Jega dismissed insinuations that the distribution of PVCs
can affect the validity of any election. He gave example of
Ekiti State where 750,000 PVCs were produced but only
350,000 PVCs were collected.
“He asked rhetorically: ‘Did the number of PVCs affect the
validity of the poll? With more than 50 per cent of the PVCs
collected, we can go ahead with the general election.’
Another source said: “As expected, Governors Babangida
Aliyu (Niger), Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Olusegun
Mimiko (Ondo) and Liyel Imoke (Cross River) battled
spiritedly to justify the need for the postponement.

http://thenationonlineng.net/new/revealed-council-state-rejected-polls-shift/

The die is cast, now the countdown begins.