Jega’s removal could derail polls – Kwara, Osun governors

  

Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, and his Kwara State counterpart, Abdulfatah Ahmed

The Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, and his Kwara State counterpart, Abdulfatah Ahmed, have described the plot to remove the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, as dangerous.

Speaking with Punch on Sunday, Aregbesola said that the plot reflected desperation on the part of the Peoples Democratic Party-led Federal Government.

He said, “It is obvious that they (PDP) are desperate. A desperate person is a dangerous person. This country is bigger than anybody.

                              

“They have postponed elections. They are planning an interim government, they are engaging in all manners of scheming. They are showing acute desperation. With all these undemocratic and uncivil acts, they are leading Nigeria to the path of turmoil.

“The whole world must be told that they must be held responsible for whatever happens to Nigeria. Why can’t they allow the ordered election timetable to go on as planned and, through that, allow democracy to grow in our land?”

Also, Ahmed urged President Goodluck Jonathan to consider the negative impacts the planned removal of Jega would have on the forthcoming general elections.

He warned that the move to remove Jega before the elections could give the impression of attempts to undermine the transparency and credibility of the March 28 and April 11 polls.

He spoke in an interview with journalists in Ilorin on Sunday on the sidelines of the ongoing campaign/consultative meeting with some stakeholders in Kwara State.

The governor reminded the Federal Government to take into cognisance, the attention of the international community, saying that any action to remove Jega would make the general elections lack credibility.

He stated that it would be plausible to allow Jega to conduct the elections whose process he had already started.

Ahmed said, “The sensitivity of the role of Jega in today’s electoral process is so crucial that we cannot handle his exit with levity, especially as the current electoral process is drawing a lot of attention both locally and internationally.

Credit: www.ajetun.com/