Jega has already decided winner of presidential election – Isiwele

Alhaji Musa Isiwele Shehu, National President Road Transport Employers’ Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) and a delegate to the 2014 National Conference. In this interview with SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,IGNATIUS OKOROCHA he expressed total lack of confidence in  INEC to conduct a free, fair and credible election in the forthcoming elections. Excerpts: This Report was seen on Daily Independent

Nigeria was to go to the poll on February 14 and 28 respectively but for the six weeks shift in the election date  request by the military for the extension. How do you feel about the postponement?

In my own opinion, the chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC),

Prof. Attahiru Jega was deceiving Nigerians. He was never ready for the election because a day before the meeting of the council of states, Jega had assured them that there was no going back from the conduct of the election. He knew fully well that the 9000 INEC officials that he was going to conduct the election with nationwide were ill equipped to officiate at poll and he was also aware that the so called capturing machines that he was talking about had never arrived this country. They were there in China. The PVC that is coming now was not there.

So tell me how would he have conducted the election? He is fooling himself. I heard in the news this morning about 6000 PVC in Ogun state are not for Ogun people and about thousand of similar PVCs that belong to other states were found in Zamfara state. So how would Jega have conducted the election with all these discrepancies and irregularities. You know you don’t see with eyes, you see with mind. If your mind is disorganized you can pass your Friend without knowing that you have passed him or her. Jega has a skeleton in his mind and that is why you see him making these mistakes. He has conducted the previous elections, he conducted the bye- elections, he conducted other state governorship elections. So why all these shortcomings now in the planned general elections? ****Again the huge collection of PVC recorded in the war ravaged North-East geopolitical zones of the country and the low percentage collection from Southern part of the country that has       been peaceful are evidences of Jega’s secrete agenda against this election. From the figures INEC rolled out on the collection of PVC in the country, Jega has already decided his favoured winner of the election*****.

So, I think Jega should resign his appointment as INEC chairman for the nation to have a free, fair and credible election. It is because of my agitation for his resignation that Jega wants to sideline me now in the agreement he signed with the National Union of Road Transport Worker on the transportation of sensitive materials to the polls on Election Day. Jega has signed MOU with the Transport Union of Road Transport Worker as the sole contractor for carrying election materials on the Election Day nationwide. This has never happened before. My Association is a statutory body as far as the Trade Union is concerned. He is doing this because I spoke my mind on his design to scuttle this election in favour of his preferred candidate. Based on this he gave instruction to his office that nobody should patronize my Association and I would not allow that to happen. I Would not accept it, instead I wouldn’t mind seeking legal redress because I am a Nigerian, I am a transporter, we are an important organization in transport industry and why must you say only one union should supply vehicles in the whole country during election. This is an affront on the transport sector and I wouldn’t allow it to happen.

I think the postponement of the election by six weeks was the best thing for Nigeria because if INEC had gone ahead with the election, it would have plunge this country into anarchy. We thank God for his quick intervention not to have allowed the election to have held as earlier planned by the commission.

As a major stakeholder in the transport industry, in the face of what has happened, would you ally with the National Union of Road Transport Workers to executive the contract that has been signed between it and INEC? What do you intend to do?

In the previous elections in parts of the country, the commission had always asked the two bodies in the transport industry to share 50/ 50 whatever number of vehicles they want to use for the conduct of those elections. This has been the procedure before now and when they want to hold meetings with all the stakeholders in the conduct of elections they always carry us along. The question now is why the discrimination against the Road Transport Owners Association now ? As far as I know, we don’t demonstrate, we don’t go on strike but I can address the Press on the development and complain to higher authorities on the matter telling them not to allow such a thing to exist in our body politics.

Now that Jega has told the Senate that he has entered into MOU with the NURTW on the transportation of electoral materials to polling units at the March 28 and April 11 election, don’t you think he has concluded that plan?

He has said that but this morning I saw in AIT that there is a court order that he should not use the counting machine in the forthcoming election and that he should allow all eligible voters to vote and he said I must use the counting machine. Is he going to disobey the court order? Why is he telling us that he would use Card reader. Where is this Card reader coming from?China ! anything China made is it original? Why didn’t he do it in UK or other reputable manufacturing countries of the world, because anything China is often considered fake or adulterated.

Are you saying that you don’t have confidence in the China-made Card reader ?

Yes! I don’t have any confidence in the Card reader because with all these lies being exhibited by Jega in the planned general election, ranging from the non availability of PVC, Card reader not being there, there are so much mistrust in the whole electoral process and with all the inconsistencies in Jega, how can anybody have confidence in his conducting a credible election this year. As I am talking to you neither the hired electoral officers nor the Nigeria electorates are acquainted with the use of Card reader or other innovations Jega has introduced this election.

The All Progressive Congress (APC) has kicked against the deployment of the military to polling units during the forthcoming election, as a stakeholder in the nation’s electoral process, what is your comment on this ?

You see, I have being advising these people to allow a sleeping dog to lie. It is just because President Jonathan is the type person he is, that is why they are saying all sorts of things about his government. Since Jonathan became the president of this country he has never sent anybody to exile, no political assassination, he has never asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or Independent Corrupt Practices Commission( ICPC))to arrest or go after any politician he considered his detractor just like former President Olusegun Obasanjo did during his administration. At that time EFCC was so powerful that anybody that it disqualifies on alleged corrupt practices would automatically be disqualified from contesting election. Let me tell you, I speak and hear Hausa language very well. Could you believe that just a day after the signing of Peace Accord in Abuja by all the presidential candidate the following day the APC presidential candidate was quoted to be calling President Jonathan “Kparawo” which means a thief and the audience made up of small small boys were clapping and laughing. You want to be a president and you are abusing a sitting president.

If you say you don’t want the military during election,are you going to man the election. We were in this country when NPN, UPN and other political parties were witnessing snatching of ballot boxes, so if there is no presence of security during the conduct of elections how do you forestall electoral violence or malpractices? How would the elections be conducted.

Recently the former President Olusegun Obsanjo rained abuses on President Jonathan,accusing him of encouraging corruption in the country and not been able to end insurgency in parts of the North East. The former president also made good his anger by destroying his PDP membership card in public. How do see Obasanjo’s action?

Former president Obasanjo’s action is uncalled for because in one of my media briefing, I advised Obasanjo not to destroy the house he built. I am sure if any other person had committed the same offence with Obasanjo, he will gone in for it. So,by this action of Obasanjo,he is making Nigerians to believe in Jonathan’s reply that the man wants to run his government for him by sending the list of ministerial positions, list of special Advisers etc. when Obasanjo was in government,could he have allowed that? Let him say whatever he likes, when God says yes nobody can change it. If God has decreed that Jonathan will win this election,nobody can stop him. We have had so many past president and Military head of states who ruled this country, yet non has behaved the same way Obasanjo does. Look at the US past Presidents, who among them has ever talked down on President Barack Obama the way Obasanjo talks to Jonathan. Obasanjo should allow Jonathan to run his government because nobody challenged him when he was the president of this country. Obasanjo should drop the slogan if we can not intimidate him, let us destroy his government. It is unfortunate that the same party that graciously allowed Obasanjo the privilege of enjoying the honour of being President of this country under its platform, that he now turn back to destroy its membership card. People insinuate that it is old age that is worrying Obasanjo but I don’t believe that. I expected Obasanjo to have apologize to his party for what he did. The former President it would be recalled increased pump price of fuel 11 times and nobody challenged him for that and this is a product that has ripple effect on the masses of this country.