Attahiru Jega, chairman of the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC), is close to bowing to fierce pressure by
announcing a six-week postponement of the February general
elections. However, even though Mr. Jega is all but certain to do the
bidding of President Goodluck Jonathan by setting a latter date for the
elections, sources in the Presidency insist that Mr. Jega will not
survive as INEC chair much longer if plans by the Presidency to sack him
materialize.
SaharaReporters has consistently reported that President Jonathan and
his closest associates have been desperate to postpone the elections to
enable them to re-strategize in the face of certain signs that Mr.
Jonathan and his party were on the cusp of losing by a wide margin.
Once Mr. Jega makes it official that the elections will be postponed,
Mr. Jonathan and members of his close-knit kitchen
cabinet plan to intensify their plot to plant an interim
government after successfully removing Mr. Jega as INEC chairman.
Mr. Jega’s tenure is scheduled to end in June 2015.
Sources reveal that the president and his team are exploring several
options to ease Mr. Jega out of his INEC job. One option, according to a
source embedded in the Presidency, is to ask the INEC chair to go on
“termination leave” as early as the end of March, 2015. A second and
more potent strategy is to launch a series of subterranean threats to
his life and a series blackmail strategies,including the use of sections
of the Nigerian media to accuse Mr. Jega of corruption in the award of
INEC contracts.
It was further learnt that the heads of Nigeria’s security agencies, under direct
instructions from the Presidency, categorically told Mr. Jega yesterday
that they could not guarantee establishing a climate for free and fair
elections to hold in February. They also reportedly warned Mr. Jega that
they could not guarantee his personal safety and those of other INEC
staff should elections go ahead on February 14th as currently
scheduled.
The alarming pressure on Mr. Jega forced him to call a meeting of
political parties, non-governmental organizations and resident electoral
commissioners in Abuja today. Although the meetings are yet to
end, Mr. Jega has confided in several people that he was open to
considering a six-week postponement.
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