by James Sambo

At the Council of State meeting convened by President Goodluck Jonathan, on Thursday, February 5, the postponement of this month’s general elections may be a subject of discussion.

The council which meets periodically, is made up of the President, the Vice-President, all former Presidents or ex-Heads of State, all former Chief Justices of Nigeria, the President of the Senate, all state governors and the Attorney-General of the Federation.

Many agitating for the shift in the polls based their reason on the inability of INEC to widely distribute Permanent Voter Cards to registered voters.

The opposition party has accused the Presidency and the PDP of orchestrating the scheme to push forward the elections, however, the ruling party has refuted the claims.

Despite calls from various quarters clamouring for the postponement, NEC has consistently insisted that there was no need for such a line of action.

A Presidency official in Abuja confirmed to Punch on Tuesday, February 3, that the Council of State would review the preparations for the elections by INEC and the relevant security agencies.

The source revealed that information available to the government showed that the commission was not yet ready for the elections, as opposed to the stance of the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega.

Speaking further, the source claimed that INEC only awarded the contract for the printing of ballot papers for the February 14 presidential election on Monday, January 26.

The official said: “The truth of the matter is that if urgent step is not taken, Prof. Jega may end up ridiculing this country. Available information shows that the commission is not set for this election contrary to Jega’s claim.”

“We learnt he actually summoned a meeting recently with a view to postponing the election but he is scared of the opposition who have been kicking against such. This Thursday (tomorrow) meeting will definitely review INEC’s preparations and take a stand.”

Another Presidency source also confirmed that President Jonathan might capitalise on the council meeting to seek support for the postponement of the polls.

“The Presidency is not resting on its oars concerning the plan to shift the elections. It is already in talks with some members of the council.”

He added that if the push for postponement fails, the president will adopt a new strategy. “We would opt for another plan, which is to return to the drawing board; plan a new strategy on how to deal with our opponents.”