Having successfully triumphed in its bid to secure a later date for the 2015 general elections originally scheduled for February 14 and 28 respectively, it has emerged that the presidency’s next move is strategising on how to show Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission the door, before the March 28 and April 11 dates that have been fixed.
President Jonathan and his closest associates, it was gathered, have been desperate to postpone the elections to enable them re-strategize in the face of imminent pointers that Mr. Jonathan and his party, the PDP were on the verge of losing the election to the opposition APC Presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari with a wide margin should the election proceed as planned under Jega who had reportedly repeatedly turned down several invitations to go and see President Jonathan at Aso Rock.
Now that INEC has officially announced the postponement of the elections by six week, Mr. Jonathan and his associates next move is a carfully mapped out plan intensify their plot to plant an interim government after successfully removing Mr. Jega as INEC chairman.
Mr. Jega’s tenure is scheduled to end in June 2015.
On Thursday after the Council of State meeting, a group led by South South leader and Jonathan’s die hard loyalist, Chief Edwin Clark has called on the INEC Chairman to tender his resignation.
The group under the aegis of Southern Peoples Assembly has hinged their demand on security situation in the country, and un concluded PVC distribution especially in the South.
Another group had accused the INEC Chairman of working with some Northern elders to remove Jonathan and install Buhari.
It was gathered that the signal for the Clark-led group to release the dossier on Jega’s resignation was transmitted by associates of President Goodluck Jonathan right inside the Council of State meeting on Thursday after it had become apparent during his presentation that the Political Sciennce Professor and former Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities was not inclined to a poll shift.
Jega was quoted to have told the council that the commission was ready for the conduct of the election but the military chiefs were quoted to have said they could not guarantee the security of electoral officers, materials and the electorate should the commission go ahead with the earlier schedule.
Same Thursday, Jonathan’s supporters under the aegis of the Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly led by Ijaw leader and ex-Minister of Information, Chief Edwin Clark, called for the postponement of the polls and Jega’s resignation.
Despite calls for his resignation by some supporters of President Goodluck Jinathan, Jega had during his press conference Yesterday nigh said he would not resign.
He said, “I will not resign because my conscience does not say so. I have never met with anyone on how one candidate could win and the other could lose. If there are legitimate reasons for me to resign, I would leave. “jega had told newsmen.
However a reliable presidency source disclosed that if Jega refuse to resign, the presidency might just take the bull by the horn and sack Jega who is seen as trying to compromise the polls against Jonathan for Buhari to emerge.
Another reliable source disclosed that a political science professor from Ondo State will be the INEC boss that would be appointed to take over from Jega in order to conduct the election.
The Professor is Professor Mimiko, the elder brother of Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, the Ondo State Governor.
With six more weeks for more political schemings and rigmaroles that creates more uncertainty of what lies in it for Nigerians, the country can only look foward to what unfolds ahead of us.