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Tag: Jega

  • 2015: INEC won’t create new senatorial districts, federal constituencies — Jega

    2015: INEC won’t create new senatorial districts, federal constituencies — Jega

    The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, said the electoral agency will not create new senatorial districts and federal constituencies.

    He said though the commission would embark on delimitation of constituencies, the exercise will not lead to the creation of new districts and constituencies because it is purely a constitutional matter.

    He also said electronic voting is possible only from 2019 and not 2015 as being agitated by some Nigerians.

    Jega, who spoke with select newsmen in Abuja, said there is no cause for anxiety over the proposed delimitation of constituencies.

    He said: “I think we should understand that even the powers that are given to us to delimit constituencies by the constitution and the Electoral Act are limited. For example, senatorial districts are already known. They are three per state, so we cannot create additional senatorial constituencies because these are constitutionally defined, but what we can do is that we can look at the relative sizes in terms of the population of the senatorial district and we can seek to adjust them in order to have this equality of representation or near equality because you cannot have perfect equality of representation.

    “Similarly, there are 360 federal constituencies. The number is fixed. So, we cannot create additional constituencies.

    “All we can do is to redraw boundaries of these constituencies in accordance to population quota and other variables. So, it is important for people to understand what we are empowered to do and the delimitations that we have done.

    “If you want to have more than 360 federal constituencies, that has to be done under constitutional amendment. If you want to have more than 109 senatorial districts, that has to be constitutionally amended.

    “Our job is to ensure that the sizes of constituencies in terms of population are as nearly equal as possible in order to achieve the ideal representative democracy.

    “The population commission is not mandated to create constituencies, and as far as I know, it has not created any constituencies.

    “We have to have the collaboration of the population commission because we have to have accurate official approved population figures. We have to work with the boundaries commission because we need maps and their technical input. We have to work with a number of agencies that can bring additional value to the work that we will do, and in addition to the boundaries commission and the NPC, we have engaged and interacted with many other federal government agencies and as I speak, we are working on the MoU with many of them so that we can partner them and get their technical support.”

    Responding to a question, Jega said: “The National Population Commission does not have power under the law to delimit constituencies.

    “The delimitation of constituencies for electoral purposes is the mandate given to the INEC by the constitution, and electoral constituencies are supposed to be delimited in at least 10 years or after each population census.

    “As I speak with you, the first and only delimitation of constituencies in Nigeria was done in 1996. There was an attempt to delimit constituencies in 2006 before the 2007 election, but it was not completed, and by the time we came in, we found out the uncompleted effort, and we decided that the best thing is to do a fresh exercise. After all, something that was done in 2006 is as good as doing it afresh.

    “Delimiting electoral constituencies is very important in representative democracy, the kind of which we operate, particularly the so called single member constituency. The principle behind it is that a representative of voters should represent as nearly equal voters as possible.

    “Really, there is what we call disparity representation and the ideal principle of representation is that a representative should have nearly equal number of voters that he or she is representing. So, a population quota is usually used to determine the size of constituency.

    “Although in addition to the population quota, many other variables have to also be put into consideration such as geographical location, social cultural affinity and you also have to take physical barriers into consideration like mountains, rivers and so on.

    “So, in the case of Nigeria, because of population dynamics, even the last census that was done in 2006, there are now remarkable inequalities in terms of the size of constituencies. So, it is important, therefore, that electoral constituencies are delimited.”

    Jega expressed concern that delimitation of constituencies has been politicized in the country.

    He added: “Unfortunately in Nigeria, delimiting constituencies has been politically volatile and controversial because it is confused with administrative boundaries.

    “Administrative boundaries are used for resource allocation and for political or even traditional authorities. Anytime you are trying to delimit electoral boundaries, the traditional authorities confuse it with delimiting administrative boundaries. They think that you are taking their people from one place to another and it becomes very controversial.

    “So, what we are trying to do is to do massive public enlightenment for people to understand the difference between administrative boundaries delimitation and electoral constituency delimitation which is for the purposes representation and election of representatives into parliament.”

    On electronic voting, Jega said it is impracticable in Nigeria till 2019.

    He said: “Many countries are moving in the direction of electronic voting and in Nigeria, we cannot be an island. We also have to work towards that, but as I speak with you, the constitution prohibits electronic voting, and unless that prohibition is lifted, there is nothing we can do to even begin to experiment to pilot electronic voting.

    “So, really that is the major handicap we have and one of the recommendations we have made to the National Assembly for the review of the constitution is lifting of the prohibition on electronic voting.

    “Our hope is that if the prohibition is lifted, we will begin to pay a lot of attention to the best models of electronic machines we have around and how we can begin to procure them and then deploy plans on how we can start using them.

    “Under the circumstances, I think it is doubtable whether we can use electronic voting in 2015, but certainly it is something we have to work towards to ensure that not in distant future, maybe by 2019, we will be able to deploy electronic voting in some form, if not nationally in Nigeria.”

    He assured that the INEC would improve on electronic transmission of results in 2015.

    He added: “On electronic voting, like Ghana and Zimbabwe, what they are doing is electronic tabulation of results and we have also been experimenting with that since 2011, but we will keep on trying and we have not done badly in terms of declaration of results.”

  • Jega: why INEC registered APC

    Jega: why INEC registered APC

    •Party can ‘contest November governorship poll in Anambra’

    The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, spoke yesterday on the registration of the All Progressives Congress (APC)—the platform on which the progressives will fight the 2015 election.

    He said APC was registered as a merger party because it met all the requirements.

    He stressed that the registration was “done right under the law”, adding that the commission would appeal against a court judgment which nullified its decision to de-register Fresh Party and others.

    Jega was answering questions at a stakeholders’ conference with media professionals and civil society organisations on Voter Register Optimisation and plans for continuous voter registration.

    He said it was not yet time to release the 2015 general elections timetable.

    Jega said: “With regards to our registration of APC and what informed what we have done, it is clear to us that the parties that intend to merge have met all the legal requirements of merger and we have done all the internal processes or processing application for merger and we have taken the decision to register them and we believe we are right to do so under the law.

    “I cannot comment on other issues because those issues are subject to litigation but we are satisfied that what we have done is right under the law and that is why we did it.”

    Replying a question, the INEC chairman said APC could participate in the November governorship poll in Anambra State.

    “As to whether the merged party will contest election in Anambra State, given the fact that the registration should be done before the election, again, you have forced our leaders to quickly look at the law a party must be registered 90 days before any election and I can give you the section so you can look it up.

    “If you look at the Electoral Act, Section 84(6), it is 90 days before any election and I think they have been registered 90 days before the Anambra election.”

    On the nullification of deregistration of parties by a court, Jega said INEC had asked its legal team to file an appeal against the judgment of a Federal High Court which reversed the deregistration of Fresh Party.

    He said: “With regards to party registration, obviously the laws are very clear as to under what condition we can register parties and under what conditions we can deregister political parties and we have been doing our best to register as well as to deregister.

    “I think you are talking about the court judgment about a week ago or so. But people are forgetting that we had three other court judgments that had thrown away those who have gone to contest our deregistration of political parties.

    “So, this is the first judgment which seems to now favour a deregistered party. So, really as far as we are concerned, it’s a case that we have to appeal and, in fact, our lawyers are processing the appeal.

    “So, I think it is misunderstanding and misrepresentation to say that the court has overturned our deregistration of parties because out of four judgments, three are in favour of INEC. So, really the jury is still out on this deregistration and we should not misunderstand the import of that judgment.

    On the timetable for 2015 elections, the INEC chairman said:

    “We will issue a timetable. There is a legal time frame in which we have to issue a timetable for general elections and we are still within that time and it is too early to issue the 2015 timetable now.

    “So, we will stick to the requirement of the law and issue the timetable when the law says we should issue it.”

    He, however, explained that a lot had been done to put INEC in shape for a free and fair poll in 2015.

    Jega said: “Specifically, we have undertaken some programmes to reposition INEC for greater efficiency in conducting free, fair and credible elections. Since the 2011 General Election, we have done the following, among others:

    “We have internally reviewed the conduct of the elections through retreats involving Electoral Officers, RECs and Admin Secretaries, and National Commissioners. Through this process, we have learnt from the field officers our strengths and weaknesses in the conduct of elections and we have been introducing appropriate measures to improve the process.”

    “We commissioned an independent study of the 2011 voter registration and elections by a group of distinguished and respected academics and CSO activists, and the report they produced provided us additional information and recommendations on how to keep on improving the electoral process.

    “We commissioned a reputable management-consulting firm, which studied INEC and provided us with useful input for the restructuring and reorganisation of the Commission, to make it a more efficient and effective election management body.

    “The Commission has implemented the new structure through a reorganisation that has eliminated job overlaps and makes the organisation lighter and more efficient.

    “We embarked on a broadly consultative strategic planning process, which has now yielded a Strategic Plan and Strategic Programme of Action that the Commission has adopted and which serves as a framework for our preparations and operations as an EMB for the next five years.

    “We have held a series of consultative meetings with different stakeholder groups, including CSOs and the Media, to share information and exchange ideas on how to continue to improve upon the electoral process as we move towards the 2015 general elections.

    “We have commenced our programme of action towards delimiting constituencies, which we shall strive to do before the 20 15 elections.

    “As we count down to the next cycle of General Election in 2015, we in INEC are increasingly fine-tuning our work processes to ensure that we deliver elections that are much more free, fairer and more credible than we had in 2011.

    “We have, for instance, cleaned out the National Register of Voters and fully consolidated the data.

    “We are taking delivery of the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), which we have promised to begin issuing to registered voters before the end of the year. Indeed, the process that led up to producing these PVCs ensured the elimination of all multiple registrations and sanitisation of the Voter Register, which is an essential condition for the conduct of credible elections as we all desire.

    “ In furtherance of register optimisation, we are rolling out the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise nationwide before the end of this year (2013).

    “But ensuring credible elections, as I have always observed, is not a one-way street. In other words, it is not the task of INEC alone; rather, it is a multi-stakeholder endeavour that requires the collaboration and diligent commitment of other role players.

    “In particular, the stakeholder groups represented here at this forum have a cardinal role to play in civic enlightenment, voter education and the moulding of public perception of the electoral process.”

    END

     

  • Why INEC registered APC – Jega

    Why INEC registered APC – Jega

     

    The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, on Monday broke his silence on the registration of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    He said APC was registered as a merger party because it met all the requirements.

    He insisted that the registration of APC was “done right under the law.”

    He, however, said the commission would appeal against a court judgment which nullified its decision to de-register Fresh Party and other parties.

    Jega made the clarification while responding to questions at a stakeholders’ conference with media professionals and civil society organizations on Voter Register Optimization, Plans for Continuous Voter Registration.

    He also said it is not time to release the 2015 general elections timetable.

    Jega said: “With regards to our registration of APC and what informed what we have done, it is clear to us that the parties that intend to merge have met all the legal requirements of merger and we have done all the internal processes or processing application for merger and we have taken the decision to register them and we believe we are right to do so under the law.

    “I cannot comment on other issues because those issues are subject to litigation but we are satisfied that what we have done is right under the law and that is why we did it.”

    Responding to a question, the INEC chairman said APC can participate in the November governorship poll in Anambra State.

     

     

  • Anambra: Over 90,000 multiple registration cases detected – Jega

    Anambra: Over 90,000 multiple registration cases detected – Jega

    The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, said in Abuja on Monday that the commission had detected 93,526 multiple registration cases in Anambra ahead of the November 16 governorship election in the state.

    Jega made the fact known during an interactive session with civil society organisations and the media on voters’ registration optimisation.

    He said the figure, which had been removed from the voters’ register, represented five per cent of the registered voters in Anambra.

    He said the offenders would be prosecuted as INEC was collaborating with the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) to bring the perpetrators to book.

    “This exercise is starting with Anambra and would be done nationwide before the 2015 general elections,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria quoted Prof. Jega as saying at the interactive session.

    The INEC chairman identified underage registration as a major problem affecting smooth registration in the country.

    He expressed concern that in many communities where multiple registrations occurred, INEC officials were helpless after threats by some members of the communities.

    He said, henceforth, all voters’ cards would be issued and collected at the local governments with age identification by the electorate to minimise electoral fraud.

     

     

     

  • Jega: INEC ‘ll soon declare APC status

    Jega: INEC ‘ll soon declare APC status

    Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega, yesterday said the commission will soon make public the registration status of the newly formed All Progressive Congress (APC).

    He said as soon as the commission completes scrutinising the documents submitted by the promoters of the mega-party for registration, it would make a formal pronouncement.

    Addressing reporters in Minna, the Niger State capital, Jega said: “As soon as the exercise of scrutinising the documents submitted is completed, we will let Nigerians know the outcome.”

    Jega was in Minna for a workshop organised by the United Development Programme (UNDP) and the Democratic Governance for Development Project (DGD) in collaboration with Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) on revalidation of reviewed code of conduct for political parties.

    He said: “The commission is assiduously working on all documents submitted by APC and as soon as we finished scrutinising all relevant information and documents submitted, we will let Nigerians know of the outcome.”

    The INEC chairman had said the reviewed code of conduct was a new framework for ensuring that politics in Nigeria becomes violence-free.

    Jega explained that contrary to the 2011 elections’ code, where punishment was not stipulated against offences committed by any political party, the revised version punishments have been spelt out for any erring party.

    He also said the Central Working Committee of IPAC has been expanded from two to seven members to create room for more parties to be represented on the committee.

    Jega said 20 out 25 political parties present at the workshop had signed to the validation of the new code as a generally accepted document for guiding political parties in 2015 general election.

    Also expressing optimism of APC scaling INEC registration hurdle, the Secretary General of Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Buba Galadima said the proposed opposition party had submitted all that was required of it by the electoral body.

    He further the proposed party agreed to all the changes effected in the new code of conduct guideline.

     

  • 2015: Over 73 million now in INEC database, says Jega

    ‘My job is challenging’

    The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. AttahiruJega, has disclosed that 73.5 million Nigerians have been captured so far in the commission’s new database for 2015 elections with relevant information.

    The registered Nigerians, Jega said, now have their biometric captured with addresses, ten finger prints, photographs and telephone numbers.

    He spoke in Abuja when he led the INEC national commissioners to the National Population Commission (NPC) headquarters.

    Jega assured that with the development, Nigeria will have the largest database that is credible and fairly accurate beyond 2015.

    He said: “We have conducted the biometric data registration in order to establish a new resister of voters. We now have a data base of at lesst 73. 5 million Nigerians that have own their biometric captured with addresses, ten finger prints, photograph, telephone numbers, and I believe we will probably have one of the largest database that is credible and fairly accurate in this country.”

    He lamented that his job is challenging since he came in as the INEC boss in June 2010, noting that the registration of voters was carried out within three weeks.

    Jega said: “It has been a very challenging Job. We cannot underestimate the challenges, we have to continue to improve, refine and bring additional innovation into the electoral process so that 2015 will be much better than 2011.”

    The INEC boss revealed many experts told him the conduct cannot be possible while many discouraged him.

    He vowed to do all within his power to ensure that 2015 election is better than what obtained in 2011.

    According to him: “What we have to do now is to continue to update that database and we have brought remarkable credibility into the Voters Register in the country.”

    The chief electoral officer asked the NPC to make the demographic database of the country available for better conduct of the 2015 polls.

    The chairman of the NPC,Eze Festus Odimegwu, confirmed that the commission does not have a demographic database but promised to work with INEC to produce one soon.

    Odimegwu applauded efforts of the Jega- led INEC, pledging effective partnership to ensure a free and fair election in 2015.

  • Jega: 2015 election ‘ll be better

    The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, has assured that the 2015 general elections would be better.

    He spoke yesterday in Abuja when he received top management team of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) led by its acting Director-General, Dr. Samson Shuaibu.

    Prof. Jega, however, said the success of election is not that of the electoral body alone, but the duty of all citizens.

    He noted the importance of enlightened citizens in the electoral process.

    The citizens, he stressed, have to be sensitised, educated and mobilised to discharge their civic responsibilities.

    Jega assured that INEC was committed to a thorough voter education and public enlightenment before the 2015 elections.

    INEC and FRCN are working towards exploring areas of synergy and collaboration in the next poll.

    Prof. Jega said: “We in INEC are aware of the enormous responsibilities placed in our hands to produce a framework and deepen democracy in our country. We have been doing our best in that regard and we have benefited from the participation of stakeholders. It is their partnership with INEC that was responsible for the achievements recorded in the 2011 election.

    “Since the poll, we have been doing our best to fine tune the procedures to engage the stakeholders and ensure that we keep on improving the process. Our determination is to ensure that the 2015 election remains better than that of the 2011 election.

    “The success of election is not that of INEC alone but the work of all citizens, who are enlightened, mobilised and who discharge their civil duties and responsibilities in the electoral process. The citizens have to be sensitised, educated and mobilised to discharge that civic responsibility. We all have a responsibility to work together.

    “Nigeria is blessed with media organisations that are professional, competent and patriotic. They have been contributing positively to not only promoting national unity and development but also promoting the need for democracy and good governance.

    “We have received the submission FRCN has made and it is going through due process. We will make sure that we are committed to voter education as we approach the 2015 elections.”

    Shuaibu said FRCN has converted its Short Wave Channel to educational service channel, which will be of immense value for the voter education programme of INEC.

     

     

  • Dispute over ballot boxes: Jega, INEC lose bid to stay judgment

    Dispute over ballot boxes: Jega, INEC lose bid to stay judgment

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and its Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, have lost in their bid to stay a judgment, which restrained them from further using transparent ballot boxes for election without the consent of the patent right owner.

    Justice Adamu Bello of the Federal High Court, Abuja, in a ruling on Tuesday, refused the application by INEC and Jega, seeking a stay of execution of the judgment, pending the determination of their appeal.

    Justice Bello in the judgment given on June 5, 2012 in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/82/11 held among others that the plaintiff, Bedding Holding Limited, owns valid and subsisting patent rights over transparent ballot boxes and electronic collapsible transparent ballot boxes being used for elections in the country.

    The judge voided the rights over similar inventions purportedly issued subsequently to three firms – Emchai Limited, Tambco United Nigeria Ltd and Anowat Project and Resources Ltd – by the Registrar of Patent for being illegal.

    Justice Bello granted an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants and any other person from utilising or dealing with the patented boxes of the plaintiff “except with the express and prior consent, licence and authority of the plaintiff to that effect.”

    Dismissing INEC and Jega’s application on Tuesday, the judge held that the relief granted in the judgment were mainly declarative and were incapable of being stayed.

    Justice Bello came down hard on INEC and Jega for acting in disregard of the court’s order.

    He frowned at the decision of the electoral body and its chairman to deploy the same ballot boxes for the governorship elections held on July 10, 2012 in Edo State and on October 20, 2012 in Ondo State without the consent of the plaintiff and in disregard of the court’s subsisting order made on June 5, 2012.

    He held that it was funny that INEC and Jega would approach his court for an indulgence having willingly disregarded and flouted its order.

    “The use of the ballot boxes has soiled the applicants’ hands. He who comes to equity must come with clean hands. They can not therefore seek the indulgence of the court having flouted its orders,” Justice Bello said.

    He, however, granted an order staying proceedings in the contempt case pending against INEC and its principal officers for using the ballot boxes without the patent rights owner’s consent.

    The stay is to subsist, pending the determination of the appeal by INEC and Jega.

    Justice Bello also dismissed a similar application by Emchai for lacking in merit.

    Emchai had sought an order setting aside the June 5, 2012 judgment on the grounds that it was given in default of appearance. It also sought the setting aside of the order of substituted service granted the plaintiff.

    Justice Bello held that the judgment was given on merit because trial was conducted. The judge also held that he exercised his discretionary powers in ordering substituted service of processes on the applicant, having been convinced by the evidence presented by the plaintiff.

    He also refused to set aside the judgment, as prayed by Emchai, on the grounds that setting it aside would render worthless the pending appeal by INEC and Jega.

  • INEC to issue permanent voters’ card before year end -Jega

    INEC to issue permanent voters’ card before year end -Jega

    The Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, said the commission would issue the 10-year permanent voters’ cards to registered voters before the end of 2013.

    Speaking on Monday in Abuja at the commission’s quarterly meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs), Jega said that INEC had gone far in the production of the first phase of the cards.

    “By the time the contract is executed, all the registered voters will have their permanent voters’ card produced.

    “It is our hope that all the cards will be distributed before the end of the year,” Jega said.

    He said the cards contained security features such as embedded chips with printed voters’ details, photograph barcode, micro-text, hologram and fingerprints.

    “The cards will be electronic in nature and will be used for identification, authentication and for voting to prevent multiple voting and frauds,” he said.

    The INEC boss said the meeting would discuss the issue of permanent voters’ cards, their production, distribution and security.

    He also said that the meeting would discuss the delineation of electoral constituencies and progress made toward 2015 general elections, among others.

    The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that in 2012, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved N2.6 billion for the printing of first phase of 40 million out of the 75 million permanent voters’ cards needed in the country for future general elections.

    There are 73.5 million temporary voters’ cards awaiting replacement.

     

  • What is Professor Jega up to at INEC?

    What is Professor Jega up to at INEC?

    President Jonathan has to step into the ups-manship in INEC

    With the fresh petition delivered to the Chairman, Senate Committee on INEC, by employees of INEC on January 7, 2013, it would appear that matters are far worse today than they were when the article below, mildly edited, was published on 12 September, 2012. Like it or not, President Jonathan would now have to find a way of stepping into the ups-man-ship going in that agency because of its possible negative consequences on the 2015 general elections.It is now in the open why Jega wanted to be all-in-all as he recently requested of the government. Happy reading.

    What game is the North up to at INEC?

    Can Professor Jega, a celebrated academic and former University Vice-Chancellor, double as an ethnic bigot? Is the famous Professor Oba, former Vice Chancellor, University of Ilorin, working in tandem with Jega in the former’s usual role of a Northern irredentist? Or is it as simple as the Federal Character Commission becoming comatose and toothless wherever in the Nigerian polity the North wields an unfair advantage? These and more questions agitate the mind on reading the advert: THE TAKE OVER OF INEC published in the Monday, 20 August, 2012, edition of this newspaper by the ELECTION INTEGRITY NETWORK but which in itself emanated from an earlier story by TheNews Magazine. It will be a little disingenuous, even unfair, to claim or even pretend that

    INEC has just so suddenly become a Northern enclave. The story has always been the same since there is literally a Northern Executive Secretary, permanently in place, but with the addition of Jega as Chairman, cronyism and outright nepotism have assumed an industrial scale with Oba’s FCC’s ludicrous connivance.

    For ease of reference, let us quote directly from the advert under reference. According to the publication, INEC’s top management is made up as follows:

    1. Prof Jega (Chairman)- Kebbi 2. U.F Usman (Director of Logistics) -Kebbi

    3. A. Muktar (Director of Human Resources) -Sokoto

    4. A.A Uregi (Director of Finance) – Niger

    5. M. Kuta (Internal Auditor) -Niger 6. E.T Akem (Director ICT) -Benue

    7. I. Biu (Director of Voter Education) – North East

    8. I.K Bawa (Dep. Director, Legal) – Plateau

    9. Okey Ndeche (Director,

    Operations) -Anambra

    10. Nyise Torgba (Director M& E/ Performance) -Benue

    11. A.A Adamu Head, Commission, Secretariat) -Kogi

    12. M.Ekwunja (Director,

    Civil Societies)

    13. E. Umenger (Director, Public

    Affairs) -Benue

    14. Regina Omo-Agege (Director, Political Monitoring) -Delta.

    15. B.E Edoghotu (Estate & Works).

    Those heading its key committees are also quite revealing. They are:

    1. Col. Hamanga ( Chairperson, Logistics Committee) -Adamawa

    2. Dr Nuru Yakubu ( Chairperson, Operations Committee) -Yobe

    3. Ambassador Wali (Chair person, Procurement Committee) -Sokoto

    4. Prof Jega (Chairperson, F&GP) -Kebbi

    5. Prof Jega ( Chairperson, ICT) -Kebbi

    6. Hajia Amina Zakari (Chairperson, Political Monitoring) -Jigawa

    7. Membership of its 9-Man Strategic Planning Committee reads as follows: Nuru A. Yakubu, Istianus Dalwang, Mustafa Kuta, M.S Mohammed. Torgba Nyitse, Emanuel Akeem all from the North with the exception of the duo of Mike Igini and Okechukwu Ndeche from the South. Add to this, the Executive Secretary who is from the same geo-political zone with Jega and, who, by the way has long passed the official retiring age. How blatant can some supposedly educated people get?

    It’s impossible not to wonder how an otherwise accomplished academic conveniently overlook the fact that Nigeria has a a Federal Character prescription in its constitution. What will Jega claim as alibi for this totally unacceptable lop-lopsidedness in an agency that is so critical?

    I found the following comments by Ifeanyi Izeze very useful in taking a look at the Federal Character Commission. Wrote Izeze in 2011 : ” When Nigeria’s Federal Character Commission (FCC) was established in 1996, it was supposed to enforce the federal character principles which aimed at ensuring fair and equitable distribution of posts; social-economic amenities; and infrastruc-tural facilities among the federating units of the nation. The intention was for it to be the watchdog of government ministries, departments and agencies to ensure an evenly distributed workforce that reflects ethnic diversity and the geopolitical divides of the country’.

    In recognition of its failings, wrote Izeze, the Commission after a Port Harcourt stakeholders retreat recounted as follows: ‘The FCC has delineated the country into national, state and local government levels as channels of distribution among the federating units for ease of implementation. Allocations at the national level, it said, will now be based on the 36 states and Abuja or the six geo-political zones or north and south …’ Apparently under Professor Oba, all these have been thrown into the trash can such that today, the North can completely dominate INEC with literally all its consultants coming from the North with nary a voice of warning from the Federal Character Commission.

    Given Professor Oba’s history as Vice-Chancellor, University of Ilorin, I am not in the least surprised that under his leadership, the Federal Character Commission has decided not know that INEC exists within the country’s laws.

    It is here that one begins to suspect a collusion with the PDP Federal government, given the ringing silence from the office of the Secretary to Government of the Federation. Not even a single warning to that office for its total ineffectiveness nor to Jega for the nauseating ethnic domination in INEC. Add to this, Jega’s clandestine decision to now use permanent voter’s cards for the next election, which cards will be obtained in the most dubious of ways as it will permit the registration of, not only minors, but totally non-existent persons, just so INEC can unilaterally swell registration figures in some given areas.

    I doubt if Jega’s defenders know what incalculable damage they do to his reputation when, in mitigation, they claim that he met everything in place. If in all these years he cannot right the obvious wrongs then he certainly does not deserve all the adulation he got at his appointment by a man who, we now know, truly did not know him at all.

    What then are the probable calculations? The Election Integrity Network is of the view that the structural iniquity in INEC epitomises nothing but a skewed regional interest especially at a time when geo-political struggle for power has assumed a violent dimension. The body believes that this is a carefully planned restructuring in which the most important organs responsible for future elections are placed smack in the hands of the North.

    The only time in recent memory that I can recall a similar scenario was during the Abacha era when you could hardly find four Southerners on the list of the topmost twenty security officials and a security council meeting could hold with no southerner, whatever, in attendance, if you go strictly by rank.

    Without a doubt, this arrangement at INEC cannot be a happenstance; rather it is the result of cold calculations aimed at the next elections. Nothing, for instance, stops some of Jega’s Northern top men in INEC from being transferred to other sections of the service as long as they do not lose their seniority. But nobody will dare.

    The sponsors of the advert in question bemoaned the fate of the Southwest in the agency.

    For me personally, this is a non-issue since it is a failure of the Yorubas in the PDP who are obviously not treated as equals as was recently eloquently demonstrated by Chairman Tukur who unilaterally sent its Yoruba Secretary packing. If these people now traversing the South-West ahead of the next elections were treated as co-equals, having lost the Speaker-ship of the House, they should have since ensured that they are adequately represented in agencies like INEC. This, however, will never happen since they are keener at feathering their individual nests as opposed to corporate South-West interests.

    As things stand in INEC today, Mr President owes it a duty to Nigeria to clear up, the Augean stable as a stitch in time could more than save nine.