Ngige faults Jega on Anambra gov poll The campaign team of Senator Chris Ngige, the governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) during governorship election Anambra State in 2014 has accused the National Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahisru Jega, of distortingfacts of the election. A statement signed by the Deputy Director, Media & Publicity of the campaign organisation, Okelo Madukaife, the group said: “In an interview with editors in national newspapers last weekend, Jega made so many claims which in sum contradict earlier admissions and submissions from the same person on the conduct of Anambra State Gubernatorial election on 16 November 2013, which INEC postponed to 17 and 30 November 2013 in more than half of the electoral wards in Anambra State.” “In the first place, the timing of Prof. Jega’s interview is legalistically flawed, politically incorrect, lacks sensitivity and has all the trappings of an organisation that has unfortunately drifted into the revisionist mood, hence not at ease to own up to its problems, acknowledge and correct them. “Legally speaking, Prof. Jega sits atop an organisation that has appointed a full compliment of lawyers embodying three members of the ‘Inner Bar’ to defend INEC in four subsisting petitions in the Anambra State Gubernatorial Elections Petition Tribunal now sitting in Awka. Hence, he cannot claim ignorance that the matter is under adjudication and, therefore, ought not to be receptive to all shades of comments, particularly those that seek to revise facts that have been pleaded, and are in contention before a properly constituted panel of High Court Status. “INEC should know better than anyone else the implications and weight of comments of this nature, if the Jega-led organisation is not under pressure to hurriedly shift some vital grounds. This is further supported that Jega made these statements in the week the Anambra Election petition Tribunals entered the stage of hearing the substantive matters and the petitioners have opened their cases with INEC as respondent in all. Secondly, INEC is embracing half truths and shifting grounds in a beleaguered state wishing to recover its democratic rights trampled upon with the connivance of INEC officials and operatives, currently being covered up by Jega,” the group said.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 22:31:43 +0000
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