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
Mr. Jega who had an earlier meeting with
political parties is rounding up another meeting with his 36 resident
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 PREMIUM TIMES 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 other federal 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 for the elections will still require
security escort, which apparently is now unavailable in the light of the
move by the security forces.
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