Former President, Goodluck Jonathan had sufficient evidence to fire the former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, although he decided to exercise restraint.
This disclosure was made by the former Minister of National Planning, Dr. Abubakar Sulaiman, on Sunday, at the annual Zik Dinner Lecture/Award in Abuja where he delivered a paper on the 2015 power transition in Nigeria.
He said that contrary to popular belief, there were instances of compromise by INEC.
“Few months to the general elections, there were calls from some quarters for the sack of the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attairu Jega.
“There were sufficient grounds for such calls but President Goodluck maintained a position that taking such decision would truncate the process and create an impression which only an insider would understand. There were indeed cases of compromise on the part of the commission, but as the president so wished, let the sleeping dog lie.
“Invariably, the decision to maintain the status quo in the commission by the administration was one decision that further lent credence to the peaceful outcome of the electoral process. We must not forget that the president in his exercise of his constitutional power has the authority to fire the chairman and replace him with any of the National Commissioners to preside over the commission," he said.
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