Nigerians have been urged to support Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof. Attahiru Jega over the recent campaign urging him to resign if he was not willing to postpone the February 2015 elections.
A coalition of Civil Society Organisations (SCOs) under the banner of Civil Society Coalition (CSC) while making the call Wednesday in Abuja also urged the INEC boss not to succumb to blackmail and intimidation but remain steadfast in the interest of the country’s democracy and the well being of the citizenry.
The coalition comprised the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC),Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), West Africa Civil Society Forum (WACSOF-Nigeria), State of African Union (SOTU), Partners for Electoral Reform (PER), Protest to Power Movement (P2PM), Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Zero Corruption Coalition (ZCC), Pan-African Strategic and Policy Research Centre (PANAFSRAC), Advocacy Nigeria, Say No Campaign (SNC), Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA), Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (RCHRCE), Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth and Advancement (YIAGA) and Gender Electoral and Constitutional Reform Network (GECORN).
TMG Chairman Ibrahim Zikirullahi, CISLAC Executive Director Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, National coordinator of SOTU Okeke Anya, and National Coordinator of P2PM Jaye Gaskia among others spoke on behalf of the coalition.
“We have observed with utmost concern several sinister plots in the last three weeks to harass INEC into postponing the 2015 general elections. This began with a barrage of attacks and sponsored agitations on the credibility of INEC and its leadership. Those orchestrated moves to smear the electoral umpire and technically declare it unfit to manage the elections, have now morphed into a bolder push for the postponement of the elections using the alleged lapses in the distribution of Permanent Voters Card (PVCs) as the main alibi.
“We know that the overall objective is to create an atmosphere of uncertainty to justify the shift in the polls. We also are not unaware of the fact that the prime target of this mischievous and perfidious campaign is the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega. While we are not purporting to speak for INEC, we make bold to say that INEC under the leadership of Prof. Jega has acquitted itself reasonably well enough in the critical area of being independent,” the coalition said.