As Nigerians visit the polls tomorrow, political parties left no stone unturned in maximising the six-week ex- tension of the general elections, as they organised more political rallies, town hall meetings and spoke to international audience and media with a view to not only woo electorate but also attract potential investors should they be elected or re-elected as the case may be.
On its part, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has insisted that the March 28 and April 11 polls would go on as planned, foreclosing the idea of yet another postponement. With Nigeria being amongst the first five African countries to go to the polls this year, the 2015 general election is particularly significant in its potential as the most expensive and keenly-contested election since transition to civilian rule in 1999.
Consequently, while PDP supporters have thrown jibe at their APC counterparts that their ‘change’ slogan has led to change of election date, threatening that the polls would be shifted if they keep chanting the ‘change’ mantra, the opposition party, on its hand, has responded with equal measure that the exercise was not only postponed to perfect the rigging plot of the ‘Transformation Agenda’ government but also a strategy by the PDP to financially weaken the opposition. Capturing the mood, a social commentator, Nnamdi Okafor says APC forced the present administration to do in six-weeks what it could not do in six years.
“In six weeks alone: National Conference report approved for implementation, fuel price reduced, PHCN tariff slashed, missing $20 billion audit report submitted, Nigeria Army equipped and revived, OPC and MASSOB reactivated, eight new ministers appointed, Chibok school rebuilt, families of Nigeria Immigration Service recruitment victims compensated, more lawyers have funds to sue Jega and Buhari, Jonathan relocates to South-West,” he said.Obasanjo tears PDP membership card in public The fierce criticism of former President Olusegun Obasanjo against his estranged political ‘god- son’, Goodluck Jonathan reached a crescendo on February 16, 48 hours after the postponement of the earlier scheduled election date, where the former president announced his resignation as a member of the party on whose platform he ruled the country between 1999 and 2007.
Obasanjo renounced his membership of the PDP when some leaders of the party led by Ward 11 chairman, Surajudeen Oladunjoye, visited him at his home in Abeokuta. The former president directed Oladunjoye to tear his membership card at a press conference organised during the visit. Amongst other grievances, he revealed that he would not abide in a party that is led by a ‘drug baron’. While Chairman, PDP Board of Trustees, Tony Anenih said the former president would not be missed, PDP National Secretary, Wale Oladipo, however, dismissed the report on the ground that the former President destroyed an expired party membership card and not the new and authentic card being issued by the party.
Consequently, mixed reactions trailed the development. While a school-of-thought believes the former president still has political relevance, another school-of- thought thinks otherwise.Military reclaims lost territories from Boko Haram When the military demanded for six-weeks extension of the polls to enable it reclaim seized territories from the Islamic sect, Boko Haram in some parts of the North East, many Nigerians took it with a pinch of salt for obvious reason: if the military was unable to make a headway in uprooting insurgents in six years of Jonathan administration, then it would be ‘impossible’ to do so in six weeks.
But they were wrong, as a multi- national force from Nigeria, Chad and Niger flushed out the terrorists and liberated towns under their strongholds. These successes were recorded despite the insurgents reportedly pledging allegiance to international fundamentalist sect, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Speaking at a presidential debate organised by the Nigerian Elections Debate Group (NEDG) on Sunday, President Jonathan attributed the successes recorded so far in the fight against insurgency to the fact that drones were being used against the insurgents. However, reports have it that Nigeria is bearing the financial burden of the operations by multinational forces as troops from Chad and Niger receive N146.25 million monthly as pocket and feeding allowances from the Federal Government.
As soldiers embark on cordon and search and mopping up operations in the liberated areas, presidential candidate, KOWA Party, Comfort Oluremi Shonaiya, played down the victories recorded so far, insisting that the ultimate success in the nation’s fight against insurgency is rescuing the Chibok girls kidnapped over 11 months ago. Her fears seemed justified, as the militants have kidnapped more than 500 women and children from one of the recaptured towns.
Attention shift from main contenders to their spouses, as APC petitions ICC over First Lady’s utterances With the shift of the elections, a new dimension was added to the campaigns as spouses of the main contenders led aggressive campaigns to various state capitals appealing for votes from the electorate. Contrary to what transpired in some parts of the North where President Jonathan’s convoy was attacked with stones or pelted with sachet water, the reverse was the case for his wife, Patience Jonathan as she was warmly received in all the states she visited on campaign tour.
While First Lady Patience Jonathan used the podium to say she was not ready to feed her husband in prison, Buhari’s wife, Aisha Buhari, however, urged her not to be afraid of jail. Also, the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Organisation (APCPCO) petitioned the International Criminal Court (ICC) over a complaint against the First Lady who, during a rally in Jega Calabar, Cross River State, called on PDP supporters to ‘stone’ anyone who came to the state chanting ‘change’.
Jega’s invitation by Senate and test-run of card readers in 12 states It is no longer news that critics of Attahiru Jega, chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have argued that as of the time of time the Commission shifted the polls – seven days to the scheduled date – there were indications that the electoral body was not ready for the polls and merely shifted the blame on the military. They buttressed their argument with the fact that besides the inability of INEC to train over 700,000 ad-hoc staff, the card readers were yet to be test-run.
This informed the Senate’s decision to summon the Commission’s boss to explain the Commission’s readiness for the rescheduled poll, as Jega carried out practical demonstration on the use of the card readers for the first time on the floor of the Red Chamber to the admiration of APC senators. This did not go down well with PDP senators who vehemently oppose the use of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) as well as card readers.
However, the six-week extension offered INEC opportunity to put its house in order by conducting a field test of card readers in 12 states of the federation, which the ruling party has insisted was marred by the absent of fingerprint data, PVCs with poor picture quality and mismatched data, card readers with low battery lifespan etc.Again, court bars deployment of soldiers for elections Will President Jonathan obey the court orders which barred the deployment of soldiers for elections? This is question on the lips of political commentators, as three courts have so far declared as unlawful, the deployment of soldiers for maintenance of security and order during elections.
Recall that a Federal High Court in Sokoto had on January 29, 2015, barred the use of soldiers in the conduct of elections, with similar pronouncements on February 16 and March 23 by the Abuja Division of Court of Appeal and Federal High Court in Lagos respectively.
