Council of State Divided Along Party Lines, INEC to Review, Decide on Election Dates
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| Former president Alhaji Shehu Shagari, former head of state General Mohammed Buhari and former Military president General Ibrahim Babangida, during the National council of state meeting at the presidential villa |
Having failed to arrive at a common resolution on the scheduling of the elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), whose chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, was at the meeting to brief its members on the commission’s preparedness or otherwise to hold the polls, was instructed to hold consultations with his National Electoral Commissioners, Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) and the political parties to arrive at a decision that would be made public on whether the elections should go ahead as planned or be postponed.
However, before Jega was asked to consult and announce INEC’s final decision to Nigerians, he had made a brief presentation to the council, a copy of which was obtained by THISDAY last night.
In the document titled, “Preparations for the 2015 General Election: Progress Report”, which was dated February 5, 2015, and signed by Jega, the chairman, while assuring his audience of the commission’s readiness for the polls, tacitly expressed reservations about proceeding with them as scheduled.
He cited a new security report he had received from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) the day before on four states in the North-east, stating, “This is a new development that INEC cannot certainly ignore or take lightly.”
Jega’s document reads: “Although our state of preparedness may not be 100 per cent or perfect, and although a bit of time of additional preparation will enable us improve and perfect the current level of preparedness, we believe that we are ready for the elections as planned.
“However, we also believe that it is necessary to take into context the things outside the control of the commission such as attitude of politicians, political parties, candidates and voters, and SIGNIFICANTLY, security for election personnel, materials and voters in areas under the insurgency, which only the appropriate authorities can definitively speak on.
“No matter the extent of our readiness, if there are serious security concerns, the successful conduct of free, fair, credible and peaceful elections will be greatly jeopardised.
“INEC has been working with these authorities, especially under the Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCESS), but our concerns have not been assuaged.
“I am sure this August body will be appraised of the security situation for the elections by the responsible authority.
“Yesterday, for example, we received a letter from the Office of the National Security Adviser informing us of recent developments in four of the North-east states, stating that safety and security cannot be guaranteed during the proposed election period, adducing reasons why this is so, and strongly advising that INEC considers rescheduling the elections by at least six weeks within the provisions of the electoral legal framework, and within which time span it is hoped to restore sufficient normalcy for elections to hold.
“This is a new development that INEC cannot certainly ignore or take lightly.
“I thank you for the opportunity to provide this briefing.”
After his presentation, THISDAY learnt that members of the council voiced their concerns for or against the postponement of the election.
President Goodluck Jonathan, a presidency source said, impressed it on those present that it would be necessary to shift the dates for the elections in order to guaranty the safety of voters, electoral officials and even security personnel in the North-east.
He expressed concern that if a vital section of the country was left out of the elections, the legitimacy of the candidate(s) who emerge victorious could be challenged on the grounds that millions of voters could not exercise their franchise during the elections.
His position was backed by the Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu, who spoke after the president, and other governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
However, governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who had met the night before to arrive at a common position to press ahead with the polls, insisted that the elections should go ahead as planned.
Alongside the presidential candidate of the APC, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, they argued that heightened insecurity in about 14 Boko Haram-occupied local government areas out of 774 in the country should not stop the elections from going ahead as scheduled.
In their contributions, ex-military heads of state, Generals Yakubu Gowon, Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar, alongside a former Chief Justice of the Nigeria (CJN), Justice Moddibo Alfa Belgore, acknowledged that the fears over security concerns in the North-east could not be ignored, but advised Jega to proceed with the elections as scheduled in other states of the federation.
Belgore’s predecessor, Justice Muhammad Uwais, however, kept quiet throughout the deliberations.
With the council unable to agree on a unified position, a stalemate ensued, compelling the council to instruct Jega to hold further consultations with his commissioners and the political parties, following which INEC would make a final announcement early next week on whether the February polls would hold as planned or be shifted.
In this regard, THISDAY learnt that Jega will today meet the National Electoral Commissioners, then meet with the 37 RECs of the states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) tomorrow.
The aim of the two meetings is to enable the INEC chairman brief his national commissioners on the outcome of the Council of State meeting and obtain situational briefings from the 37 RECs before meeting with the political parties on Monday on the way forward.
It is only after the stakeholders’ meeting with the parties on Monday that the nation will be informed whether the elections will go ahead this month or be deferred by a few weeks.
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