way of the chairman of the
Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC), Attahiru Jega
as the national chairman of the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),
Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, has said that
the party has great confidence in
him as the INEC chairman.
This was a great departure from
the series of allegations made
against Jega by the Director of the
PDP Presidential Campaign
Organisation, Femi Fani Kayode
who Wednesday accused the INEC
chairman of holding secret
meetings in Dubai and other places
with the intention of rigging the
election in favour of the All
Progressives Congress (APC).
Addressing a press conference in
company of all members of the PDP
National Working Committee, PDP
Governors led by the Chairman of
the PDP Governors’ Forum,
Godswill Akpabio, the governors of
Benue, Kogi, Cross River and
Bayelsa state, the Deputy Senate
President, Ike Ekweremadu, Deputy
Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha, among
others, Adamu Muazu said that the
party has confidence in the ability
of the chairman of INEC to conduct
the general elections.
Muazu also defended the former
President, Olusegun Obasanjo,
stating that his endorsement of the
APC presidential candidate,
General Buhari is a rumour and
that the former president cannot
commit anti-party activities. He
restated that former President
Obasanjo remains a committed and
loyal member of the PDP.
According to Muazu, “President
Jonathan appointed Prof. Attahiru
Jega and therefore knows him very
well before the appointment.
The President has restated his
confidence in the INEC Chairman
and therefore we have confidence
in him to conduct a free and fair
general election.
We have confidence in him and I
don’t act on rumours and therefore
we will work with him as the
chairman of INEC.”
According to the PDP chairman,
“Although we tend to agree with
INEC on the security reasons given
for the postponement of the
elections, we are nevertheless not
unmindful of the fact that the
commission on its own part was
not fully prepared for the February
14 election date.
“Taking the INEC Chairman, Prof.
Attahiru Jega on his own words, for
the 68.8 million registered voters,
the commission had only printed
and delivered 66.3 million
Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) with
1.3 million yet to be delivered and
1.1 million stolen cards yet to be
replaced.
“Also, according to Jega, 45.09
million voters cards were collected
by prospective voters representing
65.8 percent of the registered
voters and 23.71 million PVCs,
representing 34.2 percent were yet
to be collected as at February 7th,
which is exactly one week to the
February 14th earlier scheduled
date. Compare this anomaly with
the 2011 elections where not a
single eligible voter was
disenfranchised.
“By this account, INEC could not
sincerely claim to have been fully
prepared for a desirable credible,
free and fair election at the time
when more than 23 million
registered voters were going to be
disenfranchised.”
Source: ThisDay
