Prof Attahiru Jega receives international honour

Former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Attahiru Jega has been honoured for his outstanding role in the 2015 General Elections in Nigeria.
Jega who’s now the Pro Chancellor and Chairman of Council of the Plateau State University was given  the 2015 Charles Manatt democracy award by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems in Washington. He was also given the Integrity Award by the Nigerian Higher Education Foundation in New York.
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“I am humbled to be receiving the 2015 Democracy award, and will also like to recognise my colleagues at INEC for their dedication to a credible and transparent electoral process. Over the last five years, we’ve come a long way in the conduct of elections in Nigeria, and I think the outcome of the 2015 elections speak directly to this work.”
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He continued, “All my colleagues at INEC share the credit for this success. The mood in my country presently is extremely upbeat, following the first democratic transfer of power in our history.” The 58 year-old said.

Meet Ahmed Wali, the acting Chairman of INEC

‎After 5 years of dedicated service to the nation, Professor Attahiru Jega handed the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to Ahmed Wali, a national commissioner of the electoral body from the north-west today. During his tenure as the electoral umpire, he‎ conducted two general elections in 2011 and 2015.
The tenure of the new acting Chairman, will end on August 11, 2015. Wali, an indigene of Sokoto state, obtained his first degree from Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto and MBA from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
He was once Nigeria’s ambassador to Morocco and also served as the senate leader between June 1999 and November 1999. Ex‎ President Olusegun Obasanjo once appointed him minister for the National Planning Commission (NPC) and the deputy chairman in 2007. 

Nigerians celebrate Prof. Attahiru Jega as his tenure ends today.

‎Most Nigerians will never forget the name Prof. Attahiru Muhammadu Jega in a hurry. The highly-principled Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission who helped in repositioning our polity by ensuring free, fair and credible elections is bowing out today.‎

The cool, calm and collected Professor of political science and former vice-chancellor of Bayero University, Kano who assumed office ‎on 8th June 2000 will return to University to continue Teaching/ Research.

Meanwhile tributes have been pouring in via a twitter hashtag #CelebrateJega that has been dedicated in his honour.

" Guard your utterances". APC tells Jega

The All Progressives Congress, APC, Rivers State Chapter has noted with disappointment the continued unguarded utterances by the outgoing Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission [INEC], Prof. Attahiru Jega suggesting that the massive electoral fraud perpetrated
during the last general elections in Rivers State was not as huge as
being reported.
The party in a statement signed by its publicity secretary Mr Chris
Finebone said, ‘It is sad that despite the fact that the entire gamut of that exercise is now the subject of serious dispute at the Rivers State Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja, Prof. Jega will, at the slightest excuse, attempt to publicly downplay the anomie his staff led by Dame Gesila Khan connived with the PDP to perpetrate in Rivers State last March 28 and April 11, 2015.

“Prof. Jega needs not be reminded that the kind of unguarded utterances he has been making about those elections are

subjudicial to the matters before the Tribunal.


“We sincerely sympathise with Prof. Jega for struggling to shore up his reputation and paint himself as a superhuman before the eyes of the world. However, we believe that the Professor should be satisfied with the modest achievements the INEC has made under his watch and not try to forcefully lay claim to having performed extremely well”.
“But more worrying to the APC is that Prof Jega appears not to accept the advice he issued to former Minister of Niger Delta, Elder Godsday Orubebe during the announcement of the Presidential election results last March. When Orubebe went berserk and threw all caution to the wind before the world following his disappointment with the election results, Prof. Jega managed to bring the situation under control when he advised the rampaging former Minister to guard his utterances and behave like the elder statesman he was”.
“It is a bit troubling to the APC that Prof Attahiru Jega has himself refused to act according to that advice for reasons best known to him. We urge him to so do to avoid the embarrassment of being dragged before the tribunal for contempt”.
“We suspect that Prof Jega does not appreciate the magnitude of what his subordinates dished out in some states of the Federation during the election; the best option for him now is to speak about only those things he personally carried out or directly supervised”.

Photos& Video: Comedian, AY recreates the Jega/ Orubebe scenario at his comedy show.

‎Comedian Ayo ‘AY’ Makun is very ingenious and I think he knows it. The actor cum filmmaker has recreated the scenario that played out during the announcement of the presidential results last week. 

While AY played the role of INEC boss, Prof Attahiru Jega some creative person played Godsday Orubebe, the former Minister who disrupted proceedings during the exercise. The comedy was staged at the just concluded AY Live Show.
Photo Credit: Shola Animashaun

Prof Attahiru Jega gets certificate of commendation from President Obama.

Awww! We all agree he’s very deserving of the award. Outgoing chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega has been presented with a Certificate of Commendation.

The honour was bestowed to him by US President Barack Obama. US Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle who presented the certificate on behalf of President Obama noted that Jega’s performance was outstanding and worthy of emulation.

Jega expressed surprise at President Barack Obama’s decision to give him an award when the elections are still on. 

Prof Attahiru Jega to leave office in June, says he will reject tenure extension

Professor Attahiru Jega’s tenure as the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission will come to an end in two months time, June to be precise.
In an interview with the Hausa Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the electoral umpire who was appointed by President Goodluck Jonathan in 2010 said he will not accept a tenure extension.
“I am grateful to God. I was asked to come and contribute my own quota to the national development and I have done my bit to the best of my ability. Whatever assignment one will do for five years – just like this difficult one — to me if one is able to successfully accomplish the task, someone else should be given the opportunity. 


Because for me I am not interested and if I am requested to serve again, I will not do it, by God’s grace.” He said.

#NigeriaDecides:General Buhari in early lead

‎The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC today summoned electoral officers to announce the results of last Saturday/Sunday Presidential elections in their states.
Incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party won in 8 states; namely Anambra, Abia,Ekiti, Enugu, Nassarawa, Plateau, Imo and FCT.
His rival, Rtd General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress party is leading the poll so far. He won in 10 states; Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Kogi, Kwara, Jigawa and Ondo.
Below is a breakdown of the two popular parties’ votes.  (From17 states +FCT‎)
APC – 8,530,969.
PDP – 6,448,210.‎

#NigeriaDecides: INEC debunks Femi Fani-Kayode's claim that the PDP leads in 23 states

The Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega has debunked a claim made by the Spokesman of the Jonathan Campaign Organization, Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode, that the PDP is winning the presidential election in 23 states and has scored 64 per cent.

Speaking at a press conference held minutes ago, Jega said ”I don’t know the sources of such information (that the PDP is leading in 23 states). The results have not been collated in 23 states. Fairly very few states have actually collated. In fact, only two states have been collated…. There is the need to be careful about the information being put there by people who are clearly partisan.”



For Jega, the hour of reckoning draws near | By: Steve Ayorinde

Barely a week to the rescheduled presidential election, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, must be the most important man in Nigeria today.
But I do not envy him at this critical moment.
As the clock ticks from today, exactly a week to the day that campaigns will end for the presidential candidates, the countdown is not just for the election, which, without doubt, is fast approaching as the most keenly contested ever in Nigeria. 
It is as much a countdown on the fate of this former President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The biggest issue that has become more recurrent since the postponement of the election on February 7 has been INEC’s preparation, with more particular emphasis on Jega’s insistence on using the card reader technology to accredit people with the Permanent Voters Card (PVC) on Election Day.
Several paid adverts and sponsored articles have come out in the past four weeks challenging INEC’s readiness and fault its claims on the credibility of the card readers. All these anti-INEC campaigns have directly emanated from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and groups apparently working for its interest.
If there was any doubt that the anti-INEC sentiments oozing out of PDP are indeed symptomatic of a greater desire to ease Jega out of his role as the electoral umpire, some important events have since revealed the real intention of those who are vehemently opposed to Jega’s procedure for these general elections.
The first was last week’s meeting of the PDP governors in Lagos, in which they were unanimous in voicing their reservations about the adequacy of PVC collection and the reliability of card reader machines.
They started with the plausible argument that if the elections had held last month with barely 65 per cent of registered voters collecting their PVCs and the card readers not yet tested in the full glare of the public, it would have been greatly flawed. But they soon descended to the controversial and outlandish when they argued that Jega’s insistence to proceed with the election could only be a ploy to rig PDP out.
The PDP governors say they are neither satisfied with the more than 80 percent PVC collection rate nor with the pass mark given to the mock election in selected states across the country to test the card readers.
What would suffice, if the election must hold at all, they say, is for both the PVCs and card readers to be jettisoned so that anybody with temporary voter’s card (TVCs) should be allowed to exercise his/her right.
Beyond the fact that a fortune had gone into the production and procurement of both the PVCs and card readers and that all the political parties originally endorsed the use of those technologies as a veritable way to curb electoral malpractices, there are inherent holes in the return-to-the-TVCs argument.
One, the collection rate for the TVCs during the 2011 and subsequent governorship elections in Edo, Bayelsa, Ekiti and Osun States was nowhere near 100 per cent and, in any case, barely half of those who collected their TVCs voted in the previous elections.
To argue, therefore, that because there are still several millions of PVCs to be collected, INEC should be forced to return to the use of TVCs, is being clever by half. It won’t guarantee huge turn-out; rather it can only give room for the type of manipulations that INEC seeks to avoid. If there have been errors in the registration and issuance of PVCs, the only way to correct it is to ensure fool-proof accreditation through the card readers.
Furthermore, what is the guarantee that many people without PVCs still have their TVCs or are still interested in collecting the PVCs if they know that as a result of temporary displacement, transfer from jobs, or relocation, they are not going to be able to vote anyway?
The excuse of the PDP governors doesn’t look like they are eager to help INEC reason through an acceptable resolution. It looks more like a fait accompli to force a replacement of the electoral umpire a few days to D-Day.
An attempt to give a bite to the governors’ position apparently was Monday’s protest by certain people under the aegis of Concerned Nigerians in conjunction with a faction of Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) on the street of Lagos. Ostensibly, it was an exercise to express their support for President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election bid.
But it turned out to be a camp
aign for Jega’s removal, as well as fear-mongering and a violent parade that witnessed the destruction of the opposition’s billboards and campaign materials.
Calling for the sack of INEC’s chairman barely 10 days to the election by this people does not necessarily seem like the president’s friends do not want the election to hold, but more like they would rather prefer it holds under the watchful eyes of a man who can promise that the ruling party will not lose.
Will Jega buck under the pressure to have him replaced or at least get his body language to assure the president that his interest is protected?
From the outcome of the meeting with the president and security chiefs in Abuja on Tuesday, it is apparent that Jega is determined to stand his ground. He has reportedly affirmed his readiness to conduct the elections on March 28 and April 11 and insists that the card readers remain the best options to guide against rigging.
It is curious that a government that has promoted the idea of fighting corruption through digital technology and a cashless society, which requires even the market women to embrace the use of ATM cards, is standing against the use of technology that it funded to curb electoral malpractices.
For sure, Jega is in the eye of the storm.
The clock ticks for him as it does for Nigeria. Will he be forced out of his seat as being widely speculated or will he break the jinx to become the first Nigerian electoral umpire to conduct two elections?
Since Eyo Ita Esua conducted the first post-independent election in 1964, none of Jega’s 10 indigenous predecessors has had the privilege of conducting two elections. And being the first Northerner to hold this position, Jega will be making history not only as the first to conduct two elections but as one who introduced the game changer that finally put a halt to election rigging in Nigeria.
Credit: Premium Times
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