JEGA: WHY WE CAN'T HOLD THE ELECTIONS YET

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral
Commission, Attahiru Jega, has concluded a
briefing meeting with 25 civil society groups in
Abuja Saturday informing them that all security
agencies in the country have indicated to him, in
writing, that they are not available to support the
elections planned for February 14 and 28.
Prof. Jega, who had an earlier meeting with political
parties, is rounding up another meeting with his 36
resident electoral commissioners now on what will
amount to an INEC position on whether to
postpone or go ahead with the elections.
Insiders at the meeting said “its pretty much a
done deal at this point that the elections will be
postponed” and many of the attendees told
Reporters  they were shell-shocked and
depressed at what they characterize as “a clear
case of political blackmail of the state against civil
society”.
Jibrin Ibrahim, a leading African election expert
and senior fellow at the Centre for Democracy and
Development, CDD, in Abuja, who was at the
meeting, said Mr. Jega told the meeting that
security operatives from all the agencies told INEC
that they were commencing a six weeks special
operations against Boko Haram insurgents in the
north eastern corridors of the country and would
rather not be distracted by the elections.
Mr. Jega announced that the security forces also
said the operations are due to commence on
February 14, the date INEC had planned for the
presidential and federal legislative elections.
This decision, by the security forces, successfully
renders INEC’s hitherto insistence to go ahead with
the elections a risky venture.
To even collect ballot papers from their storage in
the Central Bank of Nigeria for the elections will
require security escort, which apparently is now
unavailable in the light of the move by the security
forces.