Jega on the hot seat: Ijaw group want him sacked

by Godwin Akanfe

In reaction to the proposed additional 30,000 polling units to be created by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the 2015 general election, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, has called on the Presidency to sack the Commission’s Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, over an alleged gross misconduct in compliance with section 157 of the 1999 Constitution.

The youth group, who are against the commission’s plan of allocating more than 21,000 polling units of the 30,000 to Northern states and only 8,000 to Southern states, described the move as a “political coup against the Southern Nigeria and a ploy to destabilise the country ahead of 2015″.

Eric Omare, the IYC spokesperson said; “The proposal by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to create additional polling units in which Northern Nigeria is allocated more than 21,000, while Southern Nigeria is allocated just slightly above 8,000 is a well thought out political coup to perpetually give Northern Nigeria a political advantage over Southern Nigeria in national elections with the 2015 elections in mind and to deliberately cause instability in the country ahead of the 2015 elections.

“It is common knowledge that in Nigeria, the more polling units that is allocated to a particular area automatically results in more voting population whether the population exist or not.

“The IYC having studied the arguments against the lopsided allocation of polling units between the South and North and the feeble explanation offered by the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Jega, has come to the inescapable conclusion that there is no justification for the so much disparity in the number of additional polling units between the South and North other than a hidden agenda to politically empower Northern Nigeria.

“The case of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) with less voting population having more polling units than the whole of South East is a clear case in point.

“Also, is Professor Jega telling Nigerians that the North West has more or equal voting population with the whole of Southern Nigeria?

“Furthermore, the arrogant posture of Prof. Jega in responding to the call for his resignation by the leaders of Southern Nigeria clearly shows that he is carrying out an orchestrated agenda by vested interest in the North to destabilise the country and the Jonathan administration ahead of the 2015 elections.

“The conduct of Prof. Jega is reminiscent of the attitude of the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Lamido Sanusi, who became an agent of destabilisation in his last days in office.

“Prof. Jega has no justification to defend this patently biased and potentially dangerous proposal to politically empower the North to the detriment of the South, if not to destabilise the country.”

Jega, had earlier said that the criteria used by the electoral commission in allocating polling units to the various states of the country was rational and devoid of sectional or parochial agenda, but rather to de-congest over crowded polling units, to locate polling units to more effective places within close distances of voters and to split large polling units to a minimum of 500 registered voters.

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