LAGOS and parts of Ogun State was, early Monday, grounded,
as thousands of people protested against the chairman of the independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, demanding his
removal.
Different groups, under the
aegis of Coalition of Concerned Nigerians, consisting of the Oodua People’s
Congress (OPC), nollywood artistes and human right groups, organised the
protest.
They claimed that the protest
was to “analyse the state of the nation and the forthcoming general election.”
The protest, which started
from the old Lagos Toll Gate, through Lagos Ibadan Expressway and to Ikorodu
Expressway, was rounded off at the National Stadium, Surulere.
In a carnival-like manner, a
road show involving top fuji musicians, Saheed Osupa and Abass Akande,
popularly known as Obesere and Nollywood artistes, were also part of the
protest.
The protest practically
grounded traffic in many parts of the state and further extended to the Ogun
State axis of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Commuters had a hectic day, as
many were forced to walk a long distance as a result of unending gridlock
created by the protest.
The anti-Jega protesters were
joined by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) supporters at Obanikoro,
Palmgroove, Onipanu and Ojuelegba.
The protesters insisted that
Jega must go on terminal leave and be replaced with a credible administrator
before the elections.
According to the protesters,
“over five million people are yet to collect their PVCs in the South West; over
2.5 in the South-South and two million in the South-East, while Jega claimed to
have recorded 90 per cent distribution in the North, despite the high level of
insecurity there.”
They also accused INEC of
“illegal registration of underaged as prospective voters in the northern part
of the country.”
The coalition also accused
INEC of “registering foreign nationals from Chad, Niger Republic and Cameroon,”
adding that “over one million PVCs have been recovered from them by security
agencies and Jega could not give an explanation.”
The chief convener of the
group, Chief Gani Adams, while speaking with newsmen, said Jega would have
seriously embarrassed Nigeria if the elections had been allowed to commence on
the February 14 as initially scheduled by INEC.
Adams said Jega was plotting
to create chaos and national unrest in Nigeria by insisting to hold elections
on February 14 , when he was aware that 34 per cent of Nigerians from the
South-West were yet to obtain their PVCs.
He averred that “Jega should
proceed on terminal leave and let a credible Nigerian be appointed to conduct
the elections.”
Paul Obazele, who spoke on
behalf of the Nollywood artistes, accused the INEC chairman of pitching
the North against other regions in the country.
No comments:
Post a Comment