 |
| Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman Attahiru Jega |
U.S., U.N., ASUU, TUC disappointed
Falana alleges treason
President Goodluck Jonathan and the
Service Chiefs came under attack yesterday for weekend’s postponement of the
general elections.
The President, who is also the
Commander-in-Chief, by the action of the military chiefs who said they could
not guarantee security for the exercise, has committed an impeachable offence,
All Progressives Congress (APC) vice presidential candidate Prof. Yemi Osinbajo
said.
The military chiefs should resign,
rights activist-lawyer Femi Falana said.
Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) Chairman Attahiru Jega said the agency was persuaded by the
memorandum from security chiefs that they could not guarantee protection for
the process. INEC moved the elections from February 14 and 28 to March 28 and
April 11, The Nation reports.
Jega said the commission was ready
for the elections, but could not ignore the written security advice, which many
believe was made up by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led Federal
Government to halt the momentum of support for the All Progressives Congress
(APC) candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.
Expectedly, the PDP has hailed the
polls shift as necessary in the nation’s interest, but the APC described the
decision as “a major setback for democracy and highly provocative.” It
nevertheless urged Nigerians to remain calm.
The United States expressed
disappointment with the postponement, especially since Secretary of State John
Kerry visited President Goodluck Jonathan and Gen. Muhammadu Buhari last month
to extract a promise of a violence-free poll to be conducted as scheduled.
Kerry said the U.S. is “deeply
disappointed” by the decision to postpone Nigeria’s presidential election.
“Political interference with the
Independent National Electoral Commission is unacceptable, and it is critical
that the government not use security concerns as a pretext for impeding the
democratic process. The international community will be
watching closely as the Nigerian government prepares for elections on the newly
scheduled dates. The United States underscores the importance of ensuring that
there are no further delays,” Kerry said.
United Nations Secretary General Ban
Ki-moon urged electoral authorities “to take all necessary measures… to
exercise their right to vote in a timely manner.”
He added: “This is imperative for
ensuring a credible, free and transparent election.
In the statement issued yesterday in
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and made available by the National Information Officer,
United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Nigeria, Oluseyi Soremekun, Ki-moon
said he had separate telephone conversations with President Jonathan and Gen.
Buhari last week during which he reminded them of the need to abide by the
Abuja peace accord on non-promotion of violence during the elections.
“The Secretary-General notes the
decision of the Nigerian Independent Electoral Commission to postpone the
general elections, initially scheduled for 14 February 2015.
“He urges the electoral authorities
to take all necessary measures, such as the rapid distribution of the remaining
Permanent Voter Cards, to enable all eligible citizens, including those
displaced, to exercise their right to vote in a timely manner. “This is
imperative for ensuring a credible, free and transparent election.
“He looks to Nigeria’s authorities
to uphold their commitment to ensure a violence-free election and put in place
adequate security measures so that citizens across the country are able to
exercise their civic duty safely and without fear.
“The Secretary-General hopes that
the forthcoming elections will meet the high expectations of the Nigerian
people and the international community.
“The successful conduct of these
polls would strengthen Nigeria’s democracy and enable the country to continue
to play a leading role in the promotion of regional peace and security,” he
said.
Lagos lawyer Femi Falana said the
security chiefs who said they could not guarantee security for the poll could
be tried for treason.
In an open letter yesterday, Falana
said: “Since the President could not persuade the National Assembly to
pass a resolution for tenure elongation on spurious grounds, the service chiefs
allowed themselves to be manipulated to subvert the democratic process. “Thus,
by causing the election to be postponed, the National Security Adviser (NSA)
and the security chiefs have staged a coup against the Constitution.
“They are liable to be prosecuted
for the grave offence of treason at the appropriate time.”
He added: “If the satanic Boko Haram
sect is not defeated by the armed forces of the republics of Chad, Cameroon and
Niger in the next six weeks, the security chiefs are likely to ask for another
postponement of the general elections on the grounds that the operations in the
Northeast have not been successfully concluded.
“As such extension cannot be
accommodated under the Electoral Act and the Constitution the democratic
process may be terminated by the security chiefs to pave the way for the
much-touted Interim national government.”
Sokoto State Governor Aliyu Wamakko
called for the resignation of the service chiefs and the Inspector-General of
Police for orchestrating the shift in the elections.
The governor said: “All the service
chiefs and the IGP should resign now for dereliction of their duties as they
have failed the nation and Nigerians.
“The shift in dates was orchestrated
by the PDP but the action is just akin to the fruitless efforts of a sinking
ship or a dying person.
“They should therefore honourably
resign as they could not guarantee safety of Nigerians on election days as
their statutory and civic duties.
“How can the Boko Haram and a myriad
of security challenges, which have been bedeviling Nigeria for some years be
solved in paltry 36 days.
“All of us should be patriotic and
pious enough to put Nigeria first above our egocentric and diabolical
interests,” Wamakko, urged.
He said the APC and its members were
law-abiding; “hence, abhor any acts capable of causing a breach of the peace
and unity.”
Gen. Buhari’s running mate Prof.
Yemi Osinbajo, said President Jonathan should resign or be impeached for his
failure to secure the country.
In a tweet on his handle @Prof
Osinbajo, he said “If the president says ‘I’ve lost the capacity to guarantee
the security of lives and property’, it’s certainly an impeachable offence.
“If a government needs to put
adverts in the (news) papers, to advertise what they’ve done after six years,
then there’s a big problem. My personal reaction (to the polls
shift) was one of disgust. I was disgusted that government chose to be so devious. All former Heads of States agreed:
if the insurgency is happening in 14 LGAs, surely the elections can go on? It’s ironic that in many countries
where insurgencies happen, elections go on, Nigerian troops keep the peace
there. PVCs collection in Adamawa and
Yobe, where there is insurgency, is over 70%. We’re becoming accustomed to the
impunity of this government. And I think it’s so sad that they would go against
the wishes of the people. “
Also speaking on a radio programme
monitored in Lagos yesterday, Osinbajo said: “I think it’s so sad that they
would go against the wishes of the people. There has never been 100 per
cent Permanent Voter Card collection. Ekiti and Osun states; less than 60
per cent, all of a sudden, the government is concerned.”
Former Ekiti State Governor Kayode
Fayemi accused the Presidency of “polluting the military” to facilitate the
polls shift against the wishes of Nigerians.
“It was apparent that the military
and presidency boxed INEC to a tight corner by merchants of retrogression to
get the postponement to achieve their devilish motives. I believe what we are
expected to do as democrats must be those things that would strengthen
democracy. For military to be saying that it would overcome insurgency it had
failed to curtail in five years. Is that not standing logic on its head? You
could see that Nigerians are very unhappy. To me, this is more of a civilian
coup against democracy because for military to have said that it cannot provide
security for INEC top prosecute the election implies that it is hands in gloves
with the presidency. This is a travesty and a danger to our democracy. Military
is a product of Nigeria and not the father of Nigeria and it must do everything
to protect this democracy.”
The Academic Staff Union of
Universities (ASUU) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) also flayed the polls
shift.
ASUU President Dr Nasir Fagge told
the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the security issue which the
shifting of the polls was predicated on, was not sufficient.
He expressed doubt if the six weeks
extension would be enough to tackle the security issue.
“However, if the election umpire has
been convinced enough to have the elections postponed, especially as it
concerns security, then let us give them the benefit of doubt.
“All I can say at this point is to
call on Nigerians to organize themselves very well and keep their eyes open.
“I also want to seize this
opportunity to appeal to them to use this period to ensure that they collect
their voter cards and ensure that they do not only vote but also ensure that
their votes count,” Dr. Fagge said.
TUC President Bobboi Bala Kaigama
described the postponement as “a great setback capable of truncating the
country’s fragile peace. The Congress urged Nigerians to remain calm and desist
from violence.
“We therefore charge the security
agencies to put their acts together to return the country to the path of peace
devoid of security challenges that may serve as another set of excuses for
further postponement. The national institutions must not be trivialized on the
altar of politics.
”We wish to reiterate that the swearing in date
(May 29) is sacrosanct to avoid plunging the country into
constitutional crisis,” TUC said.
No comments:
Post a Comment