Edem Duke Under Fire Over Jega’s Alleged Replacement

The supervising Minister of Information, Mr. Edem Duke, has been criticised for his comments on alleged plot to remove Prof. Attahiru Jega, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The supervising Minister of Information, Mr. Edem Duke

A source within the presidency who did want to be named on Tuesday told The Nation that a woman National Commissioner, Amina Bala Zakari is still feeling bad that she was linked to the plot against Jega.

He said the National Commissioner has been psychologically disturbed that she is being associated with treachery.

“Were it not for pressure, she would have addressed the press with some commissioners on why they are standing by Jega,” the source said.

It added that Duke’s comment has caused disquiet in the cabinet, adding that everyone is disturbed that Duke was not circumspect enough because as a Minister of Information, he ought to know that the press will take note of what is said, intended or unsaid.

“No one is happy that the story about Jega has been bordering on alleged plot to remove or ask him to go on terminal leave by the President. We believe as cabinet members, we should also not heat up the polity or create an image crisis for this administration. If you have noticed, the debate on Jega’s fate heightened after Duke’s briefing last Friday. Not all members of the cabinet approved of Duke’s comments, which left a few things hanging,” the source said.

Meanwhile, it was gathered that the INEC chairman shelved meeting with the 37 Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC) and went ahead to deploy all National Commissioners and the 37 REC in 12 states for the mock election taking place on Saturday.

The states selected were revealed to include: Ekiti and Lagos (South-West); Anambra and Ebonyi(South-East); Delta and Rivers (South-South); Kano and Kebbi (North-West); Bauchi and Taraba(North-East); and Niger and Nasarawa (North-Central).

It was learnt that the mock election is geared towards the field testing of the functionality of the Smart Card Readers.

“All National Commissioners and RECs are going to take part in the mock election which we are using to measure our preparation for the general election. The session between INEC chairman and RECs will now hold next week to enable the commission to consider the report on the mock election,” a National Commissioner said.

It would be recalled that there was a report by Ynaija on Tuesday that the INEC National Commissioner, Amina Bala Zakari, has finally been chosen to replace Prof. Attahiru Jega.
Meanwhile, investigations have revealed the real reasons why President Jonathan and the entire Peoples Democratic party are angry with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) boss, Attahiru Jega.

Also, Kwara state governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, and his Osun state counterpart, Rauf Aregbasola, have described the alleged plot to remove the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Attahiru Jega, as dangerous.