Tinubu To Jega: Resign If You Cannot Guarantee Free, Fair, Credible Polls In 2015

BallotBoxVote_0National leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator Bola Tinubu, on Thursday called on the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Atahiru Jega, to resign if he knows he cannot conduct a free and fair election in 2015.

Tinubu, who was reacting to a statement credited to Jega that Nigerians should not expect the 2015 polls to be hitch-free, spoke with journalists in Lagos.

The former Lagos State governor made this known shortly after APC’s membership registration sensitization meeting held at the party’s secretariat in Lagos.

Condemning the INEC chairman for warning Nigerians not to expect a perfect 2015 general elections, Tinubu said with such comment, “Jega is already admitting failure and laying foundation for failure.

“If he can’t do the job, let him quit. What do we pay him for? A perfect election makes a perfect society. We must strive to give the people what they want.

“It has to be a perfect election in 2015; it has to be 99.9 percent perfect. If he wants to lecture again about perfect and imperfection of electoral process, let him go back to the university”.

He said INEC and the country at large ought to have learnt their lessons from the past elections in the country.

Tinubu also decried the frequent overseas trips of the INEC boss, arguing that there were enough electoral lessons in Nigeria for him to learn from.

“Jega is presently moving from one country to the other. Is he saying that he has not learnt enough from this country to give us a perfect election?

“He is in America now, gallivanting around the countries. Is it the estacodes of his speeches that is enough for us? If he has not learnt from these countries in the last few years, then we can excuse him”, he said.

On the gale of defection of members from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party to the APC in the National Assembly, Tinubu averred that the lawmakers had the right to choose their alliance as it suits the mandate given to them by the people.

1 COMMENT

  1. The statement of the INEC chairman is an acceptance of incompetence. What is the essence of conducting an election if you cannot guaranty a free and fair election?
    What other experience does he and his team need to be combat ready for election malpractices and rigging. Many elections have been conducted in the past that should have been enough for him to learn from. The commission aught to have drawn enough experience from past elections.
    We don’t need a foreign hand to conduct election for us or go to heaven and draw angels to conduct it for us. We have to make the best use what we have to get what we want.
    Jega is already jittering on 2015 election when voters register he promised to update is yet to be done. He is truly preparing ground for failure.
    The election time table is even suspicious? Why are we having the Presidential election first? The outcome of presidential election result may distort and distract the remaining election.
    We know what we can do to make Nigeria grow and develop but those in position to do it, refuse to do it because of lust for money. Jega is dancing to the tune of those who appointed him.