USA Africa Dialogue Series - Nigeria is not ready for elections!

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President Goodluck Jonathan
Reuters
In the face of dwindling prospects for his re-election bid, President Goodluck Jonathan has embarked on a renewed three-pronged approach to scuttle the presidential election scheduled for February 14, several sources within the Presidency have disclosed. In a startling disclosure, our sources said Mr. Jonathan was willing to entertain a military take-over as one of his options.

Over the last two weeks, it had dawned on Mr. Jonathan that his hopes for winning re-election had dimmed significantly. Our sources said the president was deeply distressed to find out that several governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had been working quietly with the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) to thwart his re-election. "Apart from Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom, Mr. President is no longer sure that he can count on the support of any of our other governors," an insider in the Presidency said.

Another source said several PDP governors were aggrieved that Mr. Jonathan shortchanged or abandoned them during the party's primaries. Several of them are reportedly paying the president back by standing aloof from his campaigns or actively mobilizing support for Muhammadu Buhari, the APC's presidential candidate.

Our sources revealed that the president and hawks within his administration held a prolonged meeting yesterday and decided that the elections must be frustrated at all cost. Two of the sources said Mr. Jonathan intends to call a meeting of the Council of State for Thursday to persuade its members to back a proposal to postpone the polls. In place of an election, the president wants to set up "a government of national unity" to be headed by him for 18 months to two years. It is unclear whether the council would endorse the plan to reschedule elections. The council's membership includes past heads of state and presidents, and some of them have been openly critical of Mr. Jonathan's record.

One source stated that, as part of the broad strategy to scuttle the elections, the Presidency would refuse to pay the balance of the contract for the printing of ballot papers. The contract was awarded when the Nigerian currency, the naira, officially exchanged for N165 to a dollar. The source said the contractor, who claimed to be sourcing his foreign currency from the black market, is now seeking an adjustment to his contract. "The contractor wants to be paid N210 to a dollar, but President Jonathan and his team have refused to help the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) source the balance," our source revealed.

Instead, the president and his team have advised INEC to look for a local Nigerian printer to print the ballot papers. INEC chairman Attahiru Jega and some of his top aides have balked at the idea of using a local printer. They argue that such an arrangement would be a perfect recipe for chaos, allowing the Presidency to use its considerable slush funds to illegally print duplicate papers with which to rig the election, as happened in several states in 2011."

A week to elections we have not printed election papers! I hear! We are not serious!

http://saharareporters.com/2015/02/02/jonathan-renews-push-election-postponement-hope-fades-victory
- Ikhide

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