Senate today, summoned the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega to appear before it tomorrow, Wednesday, even as members of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Senate have raised alarm over what they called a fresh plot by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to again, postpone the March 28, April 11 general elections.
Senate President, David Mark, at the plenary today, said that Professor Jega would be expected to throw more light on the preparedness of the electoral umpire for the elections, as well as explain the distribution of the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and the process of card reader.
However, the Senate minority leader, Senator George Akume suggested that the nation’s security chiefs, including the Chief Of Army Staff, the National Security Adviser (NSA) should also be summoned before the Senate since the major reason for the postponement of February 14 and 28 elections was the lack of preparedness by the nation’s security personnel to provide security during the elections.
The APC senators later walked out of the plenary to address the National Assembly reporters in the Senate where they alleged that the Presidency, in collaboration with the ruling PDP, are again planning to arm-twist the electoral umpire to canvass a shift, using the card reader as an excuse.
The Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba had earlier moved a motion for the summoning of Professor jega, over the planned use of the card reader for the election which he argued would contravene Section 52 of the Electoral Act which prohibits the use of electronic device during election.
Senators Akume insisted at the news conference that anything short of conducting the elections as scheduled, and using the card readers to avoid rigging, might lead to a civil war.
The APC Senators argued that since the card readers are meant for the accreditation of the voters, their usage would not constitute a breach of the Electoral Act as postulated by the Senate Leader.
The opposition senators alleged that the PDP leadership, having failed to use the security challenges and poor collection of Permanent Voter Cards as excuses to postpone the polls again, had started a fresh plot by hiding under the card reader’s usage.
Akume said: “Elections must be held as rescheduled, it is important that the Independent National Electoral Commission must do this in order to avoid unpleasant consequences.
“Nigeria is a huge and complex society, culturally, structurally, and everything must be done to avoid the Somalia experience. There would be too many warlords in this country should we fail to do what is right.
“Nigerians deserve the best. Card readers will add value to the conduct of the elections; we are talking about free and fair elections. Time has passed when people carry ballot boxes and papers to their respective rooms, thumb-print and bring them for counting the following day.
“The whole world is watching this county. We have become a laughing stock, we are becoming a banana republic.
“We are even more patriotic than those who are in government. We want elections and card readers to be applied; they must be used, otherwise, the elections can never be free and fair.
“If a country like Ghana can get it right, using the card reader, why can’t the giant of Africa do it? If Sierra Leone can do it, even Liberia, why can’t Nigeria do it? We are waiting for INEC to do it; INEC must use it.
“Card readers are a must to ensure free, credible, acceptable elections. To do otherwise won’t be acceptable”
The senators also vowed to frustrate any plan by the ruling PDP to extend President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration through the composition of an Interim National Government, saying: “there is no country in the world whose leader can sit down and do what we are doing here, to undermine our democracy. That is tantamount to treason.
“We have nothing like Interim Government in our constitution and of course, there is nothing like coup in our constitution and therefore, we must do the right thing. The president himself has sworn to protect this country and therefore, where he is going wrong, he must be corrected.” [myad]

New York Times has again reflected in its latest Editorial that the emergence of Presidential Candidate of opposition All Progressives (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari and as potential winner of the March 28 election is more of an indictment of the dismal rule by the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan who is the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the same election.
“That Mr. Buhari, who helped launch a coup against a democratically elected government in 1983 and ruled until late 1985, has emerged as potential winner (of the March 28 election) is more of an indictment of Mr. Jonathan’s dismal rule than a recognition of the former military chief’s appeal.”
The United States-based New York Times said that the postponement of the February 14 and 28 elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), was masterminded by President Jonathan to frustrate General Buhari.
According to the newspaper, Jonathan appeared to be afraid of the increasing popularity of Buhari, who most Nigerians were likely going to vote for.
The full text of the Editorial, which the paper ran yesterday, Monday titled: “Nigeria’s Miserable Choices” reads:
The Nigerian government was supposed to hold presidential elections this past weekend, which presented voters with the dispiriting choice of keeping a lousy incumbent or returning to power a former autocratic leader. Now they will have to wait at least six weeks to cast votes.
The Nigerian election commission said earlier this month that it had pushed back the vote until at least March 28, after the country’s security chiefs warned that they could not guarantee the safety of voters in northeastern areas of the country where Boko Haram, the extremist militant group, captured international attention last spring when it abducted hundreds of schoolgirls. On Friday, Boko Haram fighters attacked a village in neighboring Chad for the first time, an alarming sign of the group’s expanding strength in a region that also includes areas of Cameroon and Niger.
Any argument to delay the vote might be more credible if President Goodluck Jonathan’s government had not spent much of the past year playing down the threat posed by the militants and if there were a reasonable expectation that the country’s weak military has the ability to improve security in a matter of weeks.
It appears more likely Mr. Jonathan grew alarmed by the surging appeal of Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler who has vowed to crack down on Boko Haram. By dragging out the race, Mr. Jonathan stands to deplete his rival’s campaign coffers, while he continues to use state funds and institutions to bankroll his own.
That Mr. Buhari, who helped launch a coup against a democratically elected government in 1983 and ruled until late 1985, has emerged as potential winner is more of an indictment of Mr. Jonathan’s dismal rule than a recognition of the former military chief’s appeal.
Nigerian voters have grown increasingly worried about the stunning rise of Boko Haram, which has committed terrorist atrocities including bombings.
The abductions and attacks by the group have exposed the weaknesses of Nigeria’s armed forces and the dysfunction of the government. Although Mr. Jonathan’s government has in the past been less than enthusiastic, and at times obstructive, in response to offers of American and European aid, he appears to be growing increasingly worried. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal last week, he said he would welcome American troops to fight the insurgency.
Beyond security matters, entrenched corruption and the government’s inability to diversify its economy as the price of oil, the country’s financial bedrock, has fallen have also caused Nigerians to look for new leadership. Nigeria, the most populous nation in Africa, and a relatively young democracy, cannot afford an electoral crisis. That would only set back the faltering effort to reassert government control in districts where Boko Haram is sowing terror. The security forces may not be able to safeguard many districts on Election Day. But postponement is very likely to make the security threat worse. [myad]

All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Organisation has described as “Greek Gift” the PDP branded grains that were distributed by National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to Internally Displaced Persons in some parts of the country.
The party’s Presidential Campaign Organization, which expressed disgust over what it called the federal government’s systematic destruction of state institutions, the latest of which is NEMA, said that NEMA was forced to shed its  garb of a neutral by donning/branding their grains with PDP logo and Jonathan campaign slogans.
In a statement, the Director of Media and Publicity of the Campaign Organization, Garba Shehu, accused the federal Government of re-bagging all the grains at the nation’s strategic grain reserves, paid for with public resources in PDP colours and Jonathan campaign slogans ahead of issuance to the public.
“When will this regime and its exponents stop deceiving Nigerians and betraying the people’s confidence hitherto reposed in them? Or how will they explain the rationale behind the collusion between the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to evacuate grains from the Strategic Grains Reserve and package them in GEJ and PDP scripted branded bags, for onward distribution to IDPs in Nigeria and her immediate neighbours.
“It is in fact disgraceful and denigrating to our national image to hear that the Nigerian IDPs in Diffa village in Chad had turned down the political Greek gift of rice, maize and millets; instead they have asked the President to live up to his Commander in Chief status to reclaim their homeland and create a secure atmosphere for them to return home, to their familiar terrain where they can fend for themselves, rather than being reduced to the penury of forced refugees and beggars on dole-out in a foreign country.”
Garba Shehu said that the belated food gesture to IDPs is yet another fraudulent political gimmick and crass opportunism by an incumbent government that is deploying state apparatus for polls advantage, even at the expense of both the beneficiaries and the national treasury.
He called for the preservation of the integrity and sanctity of state institutions, saying that without these pillars, the superstructure of the state cannot be kept in place.
“These institutions predated the president and long after he is gone, these institutions must remain in the service of the people.” [myad]

The Rivers State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship campaign has expressed gratitude to the people of Okrika Local Government Area for turning up en mass to the governorship campaign rally today.
The rally had earlier been aborted on two occasions. Okrika is the home Local Government of the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, and former warlord, Chief Ateke Tom.
The Gubernatorial Candidate, Dr. Dakuku Peterside was said to have pulled an unprecedented crowd at the rally which was held at the National School field Okrika.
However, today’s rally was held amidst multiple explosions and shootings which destroyed parts of the school buildings, though, according to the party leadership, it did not affect the turnout of party faithful, including PDP decampees, who joined in shouting and singing the name of Dakuku.
Dakuku Peterside sang and danced with the people in what was termed by some of those that attended the rally as a victory dance over the powers of darkness.
Upon arrival in Okrika, Dr. Peterside first visited Government Secondary School Okirika, where he had his secondary school education, before hitting the venue of the rally.
In his address to the people of Okrika before the rally was allegedly disrupted by the PDP hoodlums with explosives and assorted sophisticated guns, Dr. Peterside assured them that if he elected, he will liberate them from the hands of the agents of darkness that have held them hostage all these years.
Peterside said that no amount of intimidation will deter APC from forming the next government in Rivers State even as he made it clear that he is out to serve the people of the State and will not look back even if the struggle will cost him his life.
“Let the PDP continue to bomb us and we will continue to spread the gospel of peace and love for our State.”
He reassured the people of the State that he will not disappoint them, saying: “Our people are progressives and we are determined to provide leadership and the few unprogressives in our State will not deter us from this divine mandate to liberate our people from evil minded people who are desperate to gain power against the will of our people.”
The APC Guber Candidate introduced his ‘Road Map to Prosperity’ describing it as the best strategy to take Rivers people to the Promised Land where they are destined to be.
Such road part include the empowerment of all Rivers State people, including the non-indigenes “through my Four-Point Agenda titled: ‘Road Map to Prosperity’ for the people of Rivers State.”
He explained that ‘Road Map to Prosperity’ will aim at taking Rivers State to the next level, include Public Sector Accountability and Security of Lives and Properties; Employment Generation and Wealth Creation; Social and Human Capital Development and Empowerment; as well as Institutional and Physical infrastructure Development and Food Security.
Rivers State APC Chairman, Dr. Ikanya Ibiamu, condemned the unwarranted attacks on party faithful, which made it impossible for the party to hold the rally before now.
He described PDP as a dying party which is clinging at everything, including promoting insecurity.
“With the success of the Okrika rally not minding the explosions and shooting to scare our people away from the rally ground, we have demonstrated character by uniting against the evil and darkness pervading our State. We heartily thank the great Okrika people for turning out en masse to welcome their Governor, Dr. Dakuku Peterside. Darkness cannot be allowed to prevail over light. We are happy that by this rally, the First Lady, Dame Jonathan Patience, whatever she stands for, is destroyed and demystified. We are proud of the Okrika people and we are assured that they will demonstrate this during the election proper so that collectively we ensure that those threatening our lives will not succeed in their evil plots against our State.
“Rivers APC unreservedly condemns the continuing resort to violence by a desperate Peoples Democratic Party, which, having seen the handwriting on the wall of its imminent defeat during the polls, is bent on making Rivers State ungovernable. Let the world see how PDP intends to ruin our economy by promoting insecurity in our State but God will surely protect us from all this madness. We urge the entire world not only to condemn this act of violence by the PDP Leadership but intervene by calling those behind these unwarranted attacks on our party faithful to order.”
The party asked the security people to fish out all those behind the incident which sought to disrupt the party’s rally.
APC acknowledged with sadness, that one of the policemen at the Okirika rally who was hit by the gun men’s bullet has just died in a hospital in Port Hacourt, the state capital. [myad]