Council of State to okay Prof. Attahiru Jega as INEC chair today
Professor Jega.
Jonathan, PDP chiefs disagree over Nwodo as party chairman
Barring any last-minute hitch, the new Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chair may be named today after a meeting of the Council of State (CoS).
The Nation learnt last night that Bayero University Kano (BUK) Vice Chancellor Prof. Attahiru Jega may be the President’s choice for the job.
Jega, an activist, was Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) president.
The Council, which is an advisory organ, is meeting to consider the President’s choice for the job.
President Goodluck Jonathan said in Nice, France, about two weeks ago, that he had made his pick but declined to reveal his identity.
He said his pick would be made known to the CoS at its meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja today. The meeting will also consider the would-be commissioners.
It is the first CoS meeting to be chaired by Jonathan since he became president on May 6 after the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua.
Expected at the meeting are Senate President David Mark, House Speaker Dimeji Bankole, governors, past presidents and heads of state, former Chief Justices of Nigeria and Attorney-General of the Federation, among others.
Jega was the ASUU president who fought the military government of General Ibrahim Babangida to a standstill in the late 1990s. When he was ASUU president, Prof Maurice Iwu was the deputy president of the organisation.
He became the Vice Chancellor of the Bayero University, Kano in 2005. Jega was also a member of the Justice Uwais’ Electoral Reform Committee that produced a widely hailed report, which the government is yet to fully implement. His tenure as vice chancellor is to end in October.
Also yesterday, it was learnt that leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have failed to agree on the choice of a chairman. The National Caucus of the party was split on Sunday, with some members challenging the preference of President Goodluck Jonathan for Chief Okwesilieze Nwodo.
The President is insisting on Nwodo, a source said yesterday. The meeting, which was held at the Presidential Villa, started with a moving speech from the President on the need to preserve the party’s unity.
But a pin-drop silence fell on the session when Jonathan announced his preference for Nwodo. A source, who attended the meeting, said: "After the President’s pronouncement on Nwodo, a former National Chairman stood up and queried the choice.
"He repeatedly asked whether PDP is now rewarding indiscipline when it is apparent that Nwodo has not been a loyal member of the party. He reeled out statistics to support his argument. He alleged that Nwodo left the party in 2003 for the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), to contest for a senatorial position which he lost to Senator Fidelis Okoro of the PDP.
"The enraged ex-National Chairman also claimed that in 2006, Nwodo moved to the Action Congress (AC). And after 2007 poll, Nwodo shifted allegiance to the Mega Party where he became secretary of its Steering Committee."
The source quoted the former National Chairman of PDP as saying: "Nwodo came back to the PDP on June 14, 2009 after almost six to seven years of moving from pillar to post."
The ex-National Chairman barely sat down when a prominent businessman from the South-East joined the fray by advising the President to have "a wider consultation on the choice of Nwodo so that the PDP will not be rewarding indiscipline and digging its grave".
Another stalwart of the party also kicked against Nwodo, saying that as a returnee, he has not spent up to two years in the party to meet up with the requirement of holding any post.
The Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Bello Adoke, drew the attention of the caucus to Section 8.9 and 16(4) of the PDP Constitution and warned against litigation by members.
The source added: "After the submissions, members who had kept quiet regained their voice and opposed the choice of Nwodo."
Findings showed that following the stiff opposition against Nwodo, the President asked for the opinion of the National Secretary of the PDP, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje. It was gathered that Baraje also recommended wider consultations on the choice of Nwodo.
The source said: "The President did not make any further comments and the caucus rose without a final word on Nwodo from the President.
"I think the President may go back to the drawing board and have a rethink on Nwodo, who was a National Secretary of the party. At that point, we all knew that the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the PDP slated for Thursday, would be postponed."
The source said although some caucus members also supported Jonathan, they were lonely voices in the wilderness.
"Those opposed to Nwodo overwhelmed members blindly backing the President. The atmosphere was tense but everyone left in a sober mood," he added.
A Presidency source, who spoke last night with The Nation, said: "I think the President will not go back on the choice of Nwodo. He has found some good qualities in him."
Earlier, the source said the President had distanced himself from the activities of the PDP Reform Group. The source said: "We were all shocked when the President said he was not backing the PDP Reform Group.
"He told us that he believes in due process and he would like the party to stamp its feet by asking members of the Reform Group to follow laid down rules to effect changes in the party.
"He said he was just hearing that members of the Reform Group are already forming parallel State Executive Committees. The President said if members of the Reform Group cannot find accommodation in PDP, they should go to another party."
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks