By Chuks Ehirim
Even before the Independent National electoral Commission[INEC], comes out with the date of the re-run governorship election in Kebbi State, the opposition Congress for Progressive Change[CPC], has demanded for the removal of the state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner[REC], Alhaji Mohammed Mika’ilu,who conducted the April 2011 guber polls in the state which was nullified last Friday, by the Supreme Court.
The party’s Deputy National Chairman, Alhaji Mustapha Saliu, told newsmen in Abuja that the CPC would make a formal demand for the removal of the REC, from Kebbi State,before the conduct of the governorship re-run election.
He pointed out that the Supreme Court ruling on the case was not only a vindication of his party’s stand on the 2011 general election but a direct indictment of the REC as well as the leadership of INEC. He said that prior to the election, the CPC had cried out that INEC was bent on aiding rigging in most states, Kebbi being one of them.
The party, he said, had complained that contrary to his promise to the Nigerian people that the printing of sensitive election materials would not be handled by local contractors, the INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, actually awarded contract for that job to local contractors, especially those from his home state of Kebbi, such as Alhaji Bello Gwandu, the owner of Tulip Press.
“Our original position has been vindicated by the Supreme Court ruling last Friday. That judgment is not just a victory for us, it is more importantly, a direct indictment of both the INEC Chairman, Attahiru Jega, and the REC in Kebbi ,Alhaji Mohammed Mikai’ilu, both of who connived with the PDP, to rob us of our hard earned victory at the polls”, he said.
He added that the INEC boss should feel ashamed that his state is the only one so far where a governorship election he conducted has been nullified by the apex court in Nigeria.”Jega should hide his head in shame.Kebbi is his home state. That is the only one so far where the Supreme has annulled the governorship election and indicted the INEC under his watch, for doing a very shabby job. That is the same state where raised alarm before the elections, that INEC awarded contracts to its indigenes for printing of ballot papers”, he said.
He complained further that the party’s call for the removal of the REC in Kebbi, is hinged on the fact that it does not have confidence in his ability to conduct a free and fair election. “The man is a PDP loyalist. Even if the election is conducted one million times, so long as he remains the REC in Kebbi, he will rig it in favour of his masters in the PDP. We said this before the 2011 general elections and they ignored us. We are repeating that, for the interest of peace, justice and fair play in Nigeria, INEC and PDP should stop rigging elections. They should stop undermining the Nigerian electorate”, he said.
Speaking in the same vein, the party’s National Secretary, Engr. Buba Galadima,said Professor Jega ought to have resigned his position, following the ruling of the Supreme Court on the Kebbi Governorship election. He pointed however, that the INEC boss will not quit. “But Jega will not resign because he is working for the PDP”, Galadima said.
He also picked holes in the Supreme Court ruling on the matter, questioning why the apex court refused to award outright victory to his party.”Why will the Supreme Court order for re-run when it was obvious that we won that election? They just want to give the PDP another opportunity to rig again. But this time, we are prepared for them. If they are going to kill all of us in order to rig themselves in again, we will be ready to die in order to stop them from rigging”, he said.
