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Tag: Jega

  • Jega to Fed Govt, INEC on elections reorder: go to court

    Jega to Fed Govt, INEC on elections reorder: go to court

    Controversy over the reordering of next year’s general elections by the National Assembly was on the front-burner yesterday.

    Those opposed amendment by the upper and lower chambers should go to court, the former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, counselled yesterday.

    Jega urged the Federal Government, INEC and other interested parties to challenge the action in a court of law.

    He corrected the notion that the National Assembly fixed a date for the elections; saying that the lawmakers merely reordered the sequence.

    Jega spoke in Abuja at an event organised by the Youth Initiative for Advocacy Growth and Development.

    Speaking on the theme: “Is Nigeria’s democracy under threat?” the former INEC chair said it has become imperative for the parties to seek judicial interpretation on the matter.

    He said: “Both INEC and the interested parties have been reluctant to go to court for interpretation of constitutional provisions and this is significant because this has to do with the independence of electoral bodies.

    “Frankly, a lot of the arguments on this cannot be wished away and I think it is necessary for the independence of the electoral commission because that is key to the integrity of the electoral process because if we allow people to jettison and undermine that independence for whatever reason, then we are in serious problem. I think there is serious justification to test this matter in court.”

    He stated that the organisation and scheduling of elections remained INEC’s exclusive preserve.

    Jega said: “I am struggling to see where the National Assembly found the constitutional justification for what they have done. I will mention two specific provisions. First of all, in the Schedule of the Constitution, Part 15 Section 1 of the said schedule, INEC has the constitutional power to organise, undertake and supervise elections.

    “But that is not enough. In Section 76 (1), Section 111 (1) and Section 178 (1), it is categorically stated that elections shall be held on a date to be appointed by INEC. So, if elections are to be held on a date set by INEC, where does the National Assembly get the power?

    “As far as I am concerned, the dates and the sequence for elections are together.”

    The former INEC chief however argued that the action of the National Assembly would add to the cost of electoral process as it will now hold on three days instead of two.

    Arguing that politicians remained the biggest threat to democracy, he said politicians continued to undermine INEC’s independence, making the commission’s job more difficult.

    Also speaking on the alleged underage voting, especially in the last local government election in Kano State, Jega said he was hopeful that the committee set up by INEC to investigate the matter would answer many questions.

    He, however, said it was very difficult for the names of underage persons to be removed from the register because Nigeria lacked the technology and database of persons of voting age.

    Jega said: “I don’t think there are children on the INEC voter register but it is possible. The range of possibility is very wide. I can tell you that when INEC was finalising the register for the 2015 general elections, there was no software and there is still no electronic device that can distinguish a child from an adult once they are on the register.

    “So, the only thing I knew INEC did was to get a team of people to visually go through the register and if you do that, people who are below 12 can be identified visually as children but by the time you get to people who are 15, 16, 17 years old, it is very difficult.

    “The margin of error is significant in terms of visual identification of who is of age to be on the register. Also, in the National Assembly, there are people who have baby faces.

    “So, using visual method, people who have baby faces run the risk of being removed from the register. So, the challenge is to prevent children from being on the register. Once they get on the register, the possibility of continuing to be there will remain.”

    A former Labour Party (LP) Chairman Chief Dan Nwanywanwu, who spoke on the alleged underage voting said any register where underage voters were found should be purged completely while the process of registration be done anew.

    Nwanywanwu hailed the National Assembly for changing the sequence of the election.

    He, however, stated that the House of Assembly elections should come first instead of the National Assembly poll.

  • Buhari, Jega, Sanusi, others for Lagos-Kano economic summit

    President Muhammadu Buhari is among dignitaries expected to discuss the strategic importance of collaboration among key institutions to national growth at the first Lagos-Kano Economic and Investment Summit.

    The summit, which is scheduled to hold at the Jubilee Chalets, Epe, Lagos, between February 28 and March 1, is to focus on thematic areas such as security, governance, ease of doing business, agriculture, tourism, internally generated revenue, education and infrastructure in key areas of power, transportation and urban waste management.

    Aside the President, other lead discussants at the summit are the Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi; Oba of Lagos Rilwan Akiolu; former National Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof. Attahiru Jega; development expert Prof. Pat Utomi, among others

    Addressing a joint news conference at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre in Alausa yesterday, chairman of the summit’s steering committee and Lagos State Commissioner for Finance Akinyemi Ashade said the summit was specially designed to create awareness on the investment climate and policy thrust of both Lagos and Kano state governments.

    Ashade added that it was also to create a platform for dialogue for potential investors, with the overall objectives of national growth.

    Also speaking, Chairman of the Technical Committee for the summit from Kano, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman said Lagos and Kano states had a lot of similarities and differences, and that the summit was designed to bring both to the fore with the overall objectives of learning from each to foster mutually beneficial positives.

    Usman, a former Minister of National Planning, said there have been instances in the past when Kano had understudied Lagos in areas such as governance and internally generated revenue, and that the summit would focus on such areas with the aim of playing them up for the people’s benefits.

  • Join politics and stop complaining, Jega advises youths

    former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega, has told the youth to stop complaining about bad leadership if they cannot take part in political process. He said young people needed to take active part in governance and electoral process by volunteering and standing for elective positions.

    He said incompetent people with impracticable ideas would remain in public offices if young people continue to be indifferent towards electoral system.

    The former INEC boss spoke while delivering a keynote lecture at an event organised in honour of former Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof Rahmon Bello, and former Bursar, Lateef Ojekunle, at the Julius Berger Hall of the university.

    The lecture titled: Volunteers in the Nigerian electoral process: Challenges and prospects, was organised by the UNILAG Muslim Community (UMC) in collaboration with the Muslim Ummah of South Western Nigeria (MUSWEN).

    Jega said INEC needed to develop mechanisms to help young people maximise their experience in participating in elections. He said there was need for contribution of youth-led civil society groups to promote volunteering.

    He said: “People who have goodwill, passion and commitment make sacrifices to make immense impact on the society. The youths are imperative in contributing to the integrity of our electoral process.”

    Noting that the United Kingdom (UK) model has the highest number of youths volunteering for elections, Jega said Nigeria needed a strong volunteering devoid of partisan tendencies.

    He said there must be screening and assessment of volunteers in order to achieve integrity in national elections.

    “Credibility of civil societies to participate in electoral activities should be encouraged on a large scale.

    Integrity of election depends on the integrity of the people coming in to volunteer in making the process free and fair,” he said.

    He urged members of the academia to assist the system of elections in the country through studies of empirical objectivity and credibility. He said social scientists needed to advance studies that would aid planning of elections.

    He said: “Our professors and dons need to work assiduously to bridge the gap in knowledge, complaints, suggestions and recommendations on how elections can step forward. Research is fundamental in achieving this, as well as policy advocating in electoral reforms.”

    He extolled what he described as “apparent evidence of commitment” to elections by civil society groups through volunteering in the 2015 general elections.

     

     

  • 2019: Jega urges reformation of election volunteering

    2019: Jega urges reformation of election volunteering

    Former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, yesterday called for the reformation of electoral volunteering ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    This, he said, would enhance credibility of the polls.

    He canvassed the inclusion of more professionals, like engineers, doctors and journalists, to join National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members for volunteerism.

    Jega spoke at a public lecture organised by the University of Lagos Muslim Community (UMC) in honour of the immediate past Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Rahamon Bello, at Julius Berger Hall in Akoka, Lagos.

    The theme of the lecture is: Prospects and Challenges of Involving Volunteers in Nigeria’s Electoral Process.

    The ex-INEC chief said there is need for an increase in the number of volunteers in the nation’s electoral process.

    He said: “It is necessary and desirable. And if appropriately deployed, it can add tremendous value to having elections with integrity, with positive spin-off effects on good democratic governance. Since Nigeria and Nigerians have chosen liberal democracy as the political and governance system, citizens’ active participation and constructive involvement are prerequisites for its entrenchment, stability and legitimacy.

    “However, to maximally tap the benefits of volunteerism in the electoral process, urgent reforms are needed, leading to 2019 general elections, to reposition the continuous role of members of the NYSC and academics, to open avenues for additional groups of professionals, like engineers, doctors, journalists, among others, to join academics.”

    Prof. Bello expressed delight at the gesture of the Muslim community, saying he was proud to be a member of the institution’s Muslim community.

    He said: “As Muslims, we have the obligation of doing all we have to do according to the Islamic tenets and the will of Allah. We must be vanguards and good ambassadors of Islam at all times.”

  • We must shun ‘do or die’ politics, warns Jega

    We must shun ‘do or die’ politics, warns Jega

    The immediate past Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, has urged politicians to desist from the “do or die” mentality.

    This, he said, has characterised the political process in the country for a long time.

    Admitted that conduct of elections in the country is a difficult task, Jega advised them to always abide by the rules guiding the conduct of elections.

    He praised the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) over the last July 22 Local Government elections.

    Noting that there are no perfect elections, the former INEC boss said the best of the commission was good enough.

    Jega spoke yesterday during a visit to the Yaba LASIEC headquarters.

    Accompanied by a former INEC Commissioner, Prof Lai Olurode, he stressed the importance of voters’ education by Election Management Bodies to make the electoral process more inclusive.

    He, however, added that funding civic and voters’ education programmes requires a lot of finances, which many electoral commissions might not have the capacity to undertake.

    He urged Electoral Management Bodies to partner donor agencies for assistance, adding that everybody should be concerned about the integrity of the electoral process.

    LASIEC Chairman Justice Ayotunde Phillips (retd) hailed Jega for introducing the Card Reader for the conduct of elections.

    The commission, she said, is planning to use it in the future election.

    This, she said, will enhance the transparency and credibility of the electoral process.

    According to her, the commission would have acquired the necessary technological infrastructure and expertise which would be deployed to modernise the electoral process in the state.

  • Jega delivers lecture on election today

    Jega delivers lecture on election today

    The former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega will to deliver a lecture on electoral processes in Nigeria today at the Julius Berger Auditorium of the University of Lagos, Akoka.

    The lecture was organised by the University of Lagos Muslim Community (UMC), the Muslims Ummah in Southwest Nigeria (MUSWEN) and the University of Lagos Muslim Alumni (UMA).

    A statement by the Chairman, Organising Committee Prof. Rasheed Ojikutu, said the lecture is part of activities put together to honour former Vice-Chancellor and ex-Bursar of the university Prof. Rahamon Bello and Dr Lateef Odekunle.

    Jega will speak on Prospects and Challenges of Involving Volunteers in Nigeria’s Electoral Process.

    The event will be chaired by former Federal Commissioner for Works Alhaji Femi Okunnu (SAN).

    Unilag Vice-Chancellor Prof. Toyin Ogundipe is the Chief Host while Prof. Lai Olurode, a former INEC Commissioner and UMC Chairman is the Host.

  • Kebbi records 16 deaths from 140 destroyed houses

    Kebbi records 16 deaths from 140 destroyed houses

    The Kebbi State Emergency Management Agency ( SEMA ) says it recorded 16 deaths from 140 destroyed residential houses in 2017.

    The Executive Director of the agency, Alhaji Abbas Kamba, made this known in an interview in Birnin Kebbi on Thursday.

    Kamba said the data on the loss of houses was obtained from the state Fire Service Department, stressing that fire incidents also resulted in the loss of property worth billions of Naira during the period under review.

    He said the agency also recorded incidents of destructive windstorm at Maiyama, Gwandu, Aliero and Birnin Kebbi Local Government Areas where 90 per cent of the residential houses were destroyed while many people were injured.

    Kamba revealed that many lives and properties were lost on daily basis due to road crashes in the state.

    “In 2017, record shows that 46 crashes involving 41 commercial and 25 private vehicles led to the death of 55 people and 216 people injured during the period,” he said.

    Read also: Six filling stations shut in Sokoto, Kebbi

    According to him, flood also destroyed many residential properties in Birnin Kebbi, Jega, Aliero, Bagudo and Dandi Local Government Areas of the state.

    “Canoe and boat accidents along Dole Kaina and Yauri waterways also led to loss of lives and property in 2017,” Kamba said.

    He said the agency collaborated with the National Orientation Agency ( NOA ) to sensitise residents on how to handle inflammable materials during harmatan period across the state in order to reduce fire incidents.

    “We organised sensitisation workshop involving road managers and road users to reduce road crashes; we developed strategies on migrants and migration issues in the state; trained grass root emergency volunteer groups and traditional rulers on emergency issues, among other measures,” he said.

    The executive director said the agency would map out proactive strategies in 2018 to reduce loss of property and lives through disasters.

    NAN

  • 2015: How plot to abduct Jega failed

    2015: How plot to abduct Jega failed

    Unknown to many Nigerians, there was a plot to abduct a former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, in the thick of the announcement of the results of the 2015 presidential poll.

    Jega was to be forced to resign or declare the election as inconclusive.

    Another dimension to the plot was botched plans to bomb the International Conference Centre(ICC) where the results of the poll were collated.

    Also, the idea of a military takeover was mooted by Jonathan’s men to scuttle the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari, but the two most senior military officers at the meeting said it was too late.

    Worried by the failure to truncate Buhari’s victory, a former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal, Alex Badeh, was said to have sent a terse text message to a former Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abba, in which he accused the ex-IGP of treachery.

    But the book clarified that Jonathan was not aware of the multi-dimensional plots.

    These facts were contained in a book, ‘On a Platter of Gold: How Jonathan won and lost Nigeria,’ written by a former Minister of Sports, Mr. Bolaji Abdullahi, who is now the National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress(APC).

    The book implicated some top military officers, a Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Sotonye Wakama (who is from Okrika like the former First Lady, Patience Jonathan), heads of security agencies and senior politicians from the South-South.

    According to the book, a former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Godsday Orubebe, was to spearhead the plot to cause chaos in ICC while others, including policemen will withdraw and allow a mob to cause the commotion which will lead to the abduction of Jega.

    But while Orubebe acted his script, the ex-IGP Abba chose to uphold the rule of law and instead of deploying policemen to the ICC to disrupt the collation of results, he reinforced security.

    Abba overruled a Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Sotonye Wakama, who was allegedly part of the plot.

    The scuttling of the plot made Orubebe to carry the can alone because no one else joined him in the plot.

    The book reads in part: “In the early hours of Tuesday, 31st April, an urgent meeting had just been concluded in a private house in the Maitama area of the nation’s capital. At the meeting were some top military and security chiefs believed to be loyal to President Jonathan and some senior politicians from his South-South region.

    “The meeting had been convened to save what was turning out to be a disastrous situation for their ‘son’. Something had to be done and it had to be done quickly. The situation appeared desperate, truly, but all was not lost yet. As long as the final results had not been officially announced, there was still a chance to do something.

    “The first option on the table reflected the desperation of the moment. If an explosion were to go off near the International Conference Centre (lCC) where the results were being collated, this would create the situation that could allow some agents to move in and remove or burn election materials.

    “This option was, however, rejected. Not only was it considered extreme. It carried a high risk of unintended consequences, especially with the menace of Boko Haram running wild and loose in the country, it could also lead to loss of lives.

    “If the goal was to render the election inconclusive and stop the announcement of the final results, there must be some other way of achieving this.

    “The other way was to mobilize as many people as possible to invade the venue and disrupt the collation process. This was seen as a better option. It was low risk and had the added advantage of live television coverage to show the whole world the injustice that had happened in Nigeria and how the lNEC was part of the conspiracy.

    “No matter what happened, President Jonathan could not he informed of these plans. Everyone agreed that they had to save the President, even against his own will. It was a moment of blind passion. But this was not all about Jonathan. Apart from the personal benefits that had turned many of them into millionaires overnight, they saw the Jonathan presidency as the culmination of the Niger-Delta struggle that had started many years earlier and cost so much in human lives.

    “It was the ultimate recompense for so much bloodshed, which would, perhaps, require more blood to preserve. But they also knew that President Jonathan was no militant. To some of them, he wasn’t even ljaw enough.

    Therefore, if he knew what was being planned, he would no doubt stop it. The only way to get him to act ‘more presidential was to keep everything away from him till the last minute, thereby forcing his hands.’ For the plan to succeed however, the inspector General of Police and the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS) had to withdraw their officers from the International Conference Centre. While they did not envisage any problem with the DSS, the same could not be said of the police. This was why the Deputy inspector General, Sotonye Wakama, was invited to the meeting instead of the Inspector-General himself. Wakama was an ljaw man from Okirika in Rivers State, just like the First Lady. He could be trusted. The same could however not he said of his boss, Suleiman Abba, from Jigawa.

    “About the decisions arising from the meeting he had been invited to, Abba declared in no uncertain terms that the police would not be party to such obnoxious plan. Instead of withdrawing his men, he decided to send in reinforcements. This was a major setback, but not enough to scuttle the entire plan.

    “Text messages had already been sent out to some key people, inviting them to join the protest at the International Conference Centre. Even though only a few had acknowledged the text messages, they believed everyone would turn up. After all, those invited also had a lot to lose with President Jonathan out of power.

    “Unknown to the plotters, a few of those that received the text messages planned to heed the call. Not having attended the meeting, they had little or no background information about the protest they were being invited to participate in.

    “Many also wondered who the brains behind the plot were. The Jonathan campaign had been fractious and disjointed and it was often difficult knowing who was doing what.

    “Those within the party hierarchy were particularly bitter at their perceived alienation from the presidential campaign. Therefore, they were not going to join a battle they were not considered important enough to be part of in the first place. A good number ignored the call to am because they did not want to make a spectacle of themselves live television transmitting to the whole world. And so it was that almost everyone stayed away. Except one man,  Peter Godsday Orubebe.”

    The book also revealed the botched plans to abduct the ex-INEC chairman, Prof. Jega.

    It says: “The stoic calmness displayed by Jega during the stormy session soon attained the metaphorical status believed to have contributed in upending the plot hatched to truncate the electoral process,

    “What the INEC chairman probably did not know at the time was that part of the plan was to abduct him under the smokescreen of the confusion that would ensure the moment the police began to fire tear gas canisters into the venue.

    “Once abducted, he would either be forced to resign or to declare the election as inconclusive. However, with other actors not playing their part and the police not reacting as envisaged, all had gone awry within minutes.”

    Having failed in all fronts, some loyalists of the ex-President came up with the idea of a military takeover to prevent Buhari from becoming the President.

  • Jega urges review of youth policy

    Jega urges review of youth policy

    Former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof. Atthairu Jega has called on the Federal Government to “urgently review the National Youths Policy and include programmes targeted at satisfying the needs and aspirations of the youth”.

    According to Jega, Nigeria needs to adopt a positive youth development approach which recognises youth as active participants in societal growth and not merely as passive recipients of doled out goods and services.

    Speaking at this year’s convocation lecture of the Nigerian Nile University, at weekend, in Abuja, on “Youth and the Future of Nigeria,” Jega said the country had failed to harness the demographic asset.

    He said political leaders constructed an elitist narrative of being concerned with the affairs of the youth, “but make no substantive effort in policies or programmes to address their plight.” “Accordingly, the National Youth Policy should be urgently reviewed, enhanced and imbued with serious programmes targeted at satisfying the needs and aspirations of the youth, with their active participation.

    “Effort should be targeted at the systematic removal of all barriers to effective youth participation in the Nigerian political economy,” he said.

    He noted that the nation’s youth “face tremendous challenges, of poverty, diseases such as STDs and HIV/AIDs, unemployment and marginalisation and exclusion in the political economy.”

  • Jega, Senator tackle Jonathan over claims in book

    Jega, Senator tackle Jonathan over claims in book

    Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan came under attacks yesterday over his claims in Against the Run of Play, a book by ThisDay Editorial Board Chairman Olusegun Adeniyi.

    Jonathan, in the book, accused immediate past Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega of disappointing him.

    Jega’s Special Assistant, Prof Mohammed Kuna, disagreed with Jonathan’s belief that the wide margin between the presidential election and National Assembly results in Kano State was a reflection of a flawed election.

    The former President said it was strange that the state recorded 1.8 million votes in the presidential poll and 800,000 in the National Assembly election on the same day.

    But Prof Kuna, in a section of the book, said: “There is nothing particularly special about the Kano result; it is a general trend as many votes were more interested in the presidential election than in other elections. That was what happened across the country and you can go and do the tabulation.”

    He said the introduction of the card reader made it difficult to manipulate elections and inflate results.

    “There is nothing particularly special about the Kano result; it is a general trend as many voters were more interested in the presidential election than in other elections. That was what happened across the country and you can go and do the tabulation.

    “With the card reader, it is no longer possible to return results that are higher than the accredited voters. If you analyse the results nationally, you will discover the same trend.”

    Also yesterday, a source close to the former INEC chief dismissed Jonathan’s claim that Jega’s behaviour changed few days into the 2015 elections.

    According to the source, the former President must have been misadvised to make such claims, pointing out that Jega, being a principled and disciplined personality, could not have been arm-twisted on the conduct of the polls adjudged as by local international overs as reflecting the wishes and aspirations of the electorate.

    Senator Abubakar Girei urged the former President to stop blaming anybody for his defeat in the 2015 presidential election, saying that, Jonathan dug his own grave.

    Senator Girei, who represented Adamawa Central Senatorial zone between 1999 to 2003 under the then ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), noted that it was uncharitable of Jonathan to blame his defeat on local and international leaders who have seen through his foolery and decided to ditch him in the interest of Nigeria and their respective countries.

    Girei, now a staunch member of the All Progressive Congress (APC), in a statement issued in Kaduna, also faulted former military governor of Kaduna State, Col Abubakar Dangiwa Umar, for tongue lashing the government for alleged disrespect for Jonathan.

    Girei said:  “The likes of Col. Dangiwa Umar and their pay masters cannot save him (Jonathan) and his cohort from paying for sins sooner than later.

    “GEJ and his cohorts should bury themselves in shame as the nation awaits their eventual prosecution and imprisonment.

    “They must pay for their sins, especially for the thousands of our people in the Northeast who lost their lives and over two million others displaced from their homes for more than five years now.

    “GEJ said it without mincing words that he did not concede defeat to President Muhammadu Buhari for patriotic, nationalistic or even Godly reasons but purely because all the tactics and strategies employed by his clueless self and his greedy co-travellers could not work.

    “I am compelled to respond to GEJ’s widely reported remarks in the papers today (yesterday), that the cat is now out of the bag is no news, what makes the news juicier is that former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GEJ) let the cat out of the bag by himself.”