The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has congratulated Prof. Attahiru Jega, the erstwhile Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), for being able to deliver credible elections.
The PDP also pointed out that Prof. Jega owed his success during his tenure as INEC chairman to former President Goodluck Jonathan who not only appointed him but also gave him enough room to perform without interference.
According to PUNCH reports, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh said this during a telephone conversation on Tuesday, June 30, 2015. He agreed that elections under Prof. Jega became more credible even though he had his shortcomings and was not perfect.
In evaluating Prof. Jega’s performance, Metuh said; “He led us to our first defeat. But to be honest, Jega, to an extent, brought confidence to the system. Nobody is perfect but we owe his success and achievements to Jonathan who allowed him to function without interference.”
He however refused to score Prof. Jega as he pointed out that the PDP still had quite a number of cases at the Election Petitions Tribunal and as such would be inappropriate to put a figure on Prof. Jega’s performance.
In a similar development, Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora, who represented the Lagos East Senatorial district between 2003 – 2011 under the All Progressives Congress (APC), party has rated Prof. Jega’s performance very high pointing out that the use of the Permanent Voter Cards (PVC), and card readers made the real difference in the 2015 elections.
He described Prof. Jega as the best electoral empire ever in Nigeria’s history and also said that it would be a good thing if the Prof. continued to serve the nation in other capacities.
He said, “Jega started well and ended well. I remember when he was nominated by Jonathan and he came for confirmation at the Senate in 2010. I advised him to let his light shine so that people would give glory to God.
“I also asked him how he would like to be remembered. Now that he is leaving, I think he has done very well. He will be remembered as the best INEC chairman ever.
“He presided over a historic general election in which for the first time, an opposition party defeated a ruling party. His insistence on the use of the PVC and card reader also ensured that the elections were free and fair.
“He always handled challenges in a cool manner. We all remember how he handled the Orubebe drama during the announcement of the results. It would take the personality of a man with maturity and humility of a dove to do what Jega did.”
