Faces of Nigerian children taking refuge in Chad

These are faces of Nigerian children who are currently taking refuge in Chad. They fled Baga during Boko Haram's attack in January this year. Some of them don't even know where their parents or siblings are at the moment. Another pic after the cut...

Photo credit: UNCHR

First Kim K, now Kanye? John Legend throws Kanye under the bus

Why is singer John Legend doing this to his friends in public? Lol. Yesterday, he shaded Kim K for misrepresenting a Grammy selfie (see here), now he has come for his bosom friend, Kanye West.

After being quoted by Us Weekly saying Kanye's latest Grammy stunt was harmless and funny, John Legend took to instagram to throw his quote in reserve after listening to what Kanye had to say about Beck after the awards. He kinda subtly said Kanye was silly for saying Beck didn't deserve the award. See what he wrote on instagram after the cut..

John Legend on Instagram;

I want to clarify my thoughts on Kanye’s actions at the Grammys on Sunday. First of all, Kanye is my friend. He believed in me years ago when very few did, and I wouldn’t be here without his support. That doesn’t mean we’ll agree on everything, but it does mean that I am grateful to him. And I also believe he is one of the most gifted people I’ve had the privilege of working with.

In my comments to US Weekly, I said that when Kanye walked up on stage, mimicking his interruption of Taylor Swift’s VMA acceptance speech, then turned around as if he was just playing, most of the room including me saw this as funny, as a way of taking the piss out of himself for his infamous behavior several years ago.

When I said that was funny and people should lighten up about it, that’s what I meant. I wasn’t referring to Kanye’s comments after the show which I have now seen and heard. I disagree with those comments. Beck is indeed a true artist’s artist. He’s a multi-instrumentalist, a creative and unique singer-songwriter whose music I have bought and enjoyed over the years. While his win may have been a surprise to many, it’s not because he’s not a great artist deserving of recognition.

All of the other nominated artists, including Beyonce, are incredible in their own right, and arguments could be made for any of them deserving to win. This is not an objective process. It’s completely subjective, in fact. We can all debate who we thought should have won. But even if you didn’t vote for him, plenty of our colleagues in the music business did.

These voters are all creators who love music and have dedicated their lives to it, and the plurality of them chose Beck as the Album of the Year. I respect their decision and congratulate Beck on this outstanding accomplishment.

Is this OK? Aljazeera article refers to GEJ as Badluck Jonathan

The article is an opinion piece by Solomon Ayele Dersso, a legal academic and analyst of African affairs who regularly writes on African issues. He is head of the Peace and Security Council Report at the Institute for Security Studies, Addis Ababa office. He wrote an article titled Badluck Jonathan and Aljazeera posted it. Is that not offensive?

Photo: Dieziani Alison-Madueke shares rice for GEJ?

Bags of Rice allegedly being distributed courtesy of the National Patron of Transformation for Better Nigeria and Minister of Petroleum...Mrs Dieziani Alison Madueke. Heard the PDP National Youth Vanguard have been visiting neighbourhoods with truckload of rice.

Buhari meets Catholic Bishops in Abuja, says he doesn't have any religious agenda

APC Presidential candidate, Gen. Buhari and his running mate, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo met with some Catholic Bishops in Abuja yesterday February 10th. Speaking during the meeting, Buhari said he had no personal religious agenda and as a practicing Muslim, he doesn't share the views of any extremist group. More pics and what he said after the cut...

Buhari's speech below...

As our nation approaches perhaps the most crucial election in our history, all true patriots are called to deeper reflection of the basic ingredients that bind the nation together- our common freedom, peace and unity. This reflection is even more relevant in the face of the illegal postponement of the general elections- a feat achieved through various sinister ploys and with the sole aim of avoiding the will and verdict of the people. In all of these, I feel the urgeto communicate some of my personal vision and thoughts to the people of our great country, especially on the question of religion, a sensitive matter for many citizens that has become the most frequently used tool by the ruling party. This affordsme an opportunity to give my response to the ruling party’s false propaganda and lies against my person.

Needless to say, we must at all times hold the unity, peace and progress of our dear nation paramount and above all other considerations, especially politics. Those who deliberately disseminate divisive disinformation and attempt to stoke primordial sentiments using religion or ethnicity and create fear in the minds of our people fail the standard of patriotism this nation demands of them and deserves from them. The ruling government and PDP have adopted this sad divisive and false narrative as their strategy to prevent the inevitable change that our country and people desire and require. And they have succeeded in making some of us victims of the tales which they invent, propagate and sell as gospel truth to gullible listeners, while it is all nothing but a tissue of lies.

I would like to solemnly declare that in spite of what our detractors say, I am not a religious fanatic of any sort and I have never been. In all my life, I have never supported extremism of any kind, and nowhere in my record of service to this nation can this false toga, political opponents have tried so hard to put on me, be substantiated. Indeed, it is very unfortunate and I feel extremely sad that I have to give this type of assurance.

My background is in the army, and there is no doubt that the military is the most integrated pan-Nigerian institution. And even today, the military is one of the institutions that represents the pride of our nation’s possibilities in unity. Compatriots from every corner of this country come together, work and live together, entrust their lives to each other and integrate their families. It is a military where many of my dearest friends, from all faiths and parts of the country, lost their lives defending the unity of our nation. That was the military I served in, and in that military it was impossible to be a bigot.

For me, the issue of religion was, and should always, be a matter of personal conviction. This personal conviction approach to religion has defined my work and interactions all my life, including my tenure in office as military Head of State. The religion of all those I worked with was never a factor in their progress or in what happened to them. All that mattered then, and should still matter today, are competence, integrity and readiness to be fair to all. 

I was recently informed that we had a balanced cabinet with key positions such as Finance, Energy and Defence occupied by Christians. In addition, 11 of the 19 governors I appointed were Christians. My most memorable recollections of subordinate service was under Christian bosses, the finest our country had then, and among the most respected today. Indeed one of the best appraisals I received in the course of my military career was from General T.Y Danjuma.

Government has no business preferring one religion to the other. The role of government is to protect lives and properties of citizens and to respect and protect their constitutional rights. One critical freedom that every government must strive to protect is the liberty for citizens to exercise their respective faiths, Christians and Muslims or others, in a lawful manner without fear or hindrance and to prosecute those who use religion as an excuse to destroy homes, schools and places of worship. When governments fail in that duty, they must then assist in the rebuilding of structures including destroyed places of worship and giving full restitution for lost property. We, Nigerians, are a religious people, and the burning of places of worship constitutes one of the vilest forms of abomination to all those who believe in God. It is the duty of governments to protect this important sensitivity.

Let me state this categorically, that I, MuhammaduBuhari, as an individual, and as president of this great country by the grace of God, given the opportunity to serve, have no personal religious agenda. And I will not entertain, consider or promote the religious agenda of anyone. I will not condone any initiative that seeks to promote one religion over the other. Neither I, nor my party, or any member of my team has any desire or plan to Islamize or Christianize Nigeria or support anyone with such intention.

Although I am a practising Muslim, and I have been so all my life, I have never belonged to, nor shared the views of, any extremist group. I am not even a cleric. I believe that religion is personal and private. Many of the people close to me are not of my religion. My cook and driver for 20 years are Christians, Most of my bodyguards are Christians. Some were killed while protecting me in the terrorist attack on my convoy in Kaduna. If I have not Islamized these people who serve under me, how will I Islamize the likes of Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Ogbonnaya Onu, Governors RochasOkorocha, Kayode Fayemi, Rotimi Amaechi or Professor Yemi Osinbajo who is a senior advocate of Nigeria and a pastor? Or how will I Islamize Nigeria?

Our constitution, which in many respects, is similar to the American constitution does not permit a state religion. The Sharia identified in the constitution is almost synonymous with customary law. It is only applicable in matters of personal status such as marriage, divorce and inheritance. This has been the case since the 1979 constitution. Just as no one can make any customary or any other religious law the law of Nigeria, so Sharia cannot therefore be the law of Nigeria.

My record is evidence of this strongly held belief. Before my tenure, the deadly and violent extremist radical sect, Maitasine carried out terrorist activities in the north, especially Kano; When it erupted again in Yola, during my tenure, I took direct command, and personally led the successful effort to eradicate the threat to our country. Similarly, when some Chadian insurgents attempted to occupy Nigerian territory, I led the military confrontation that eliminated the threat.

For all purposes, we must all learn to live together as brothers and sisters, because the problems that bedevil our nation do not discriminate based on religion or ethnicity. Poverty and hunger do not know or respect religion or creed. When a bomb explodes in a market, it kills and maims without regard for religion or ethnicity. The millions of the unemployed youth of our country cut across all tribes and religions.

Wicked propagandists continue to spread vicious lies about me for political gain, including claiming that I once asked Muslims not to vote for Christians. This must be the height of absurdity. How could I ever say that, when whoever voted for me would be voting for the Christian running with me on the same ticket? And how could I ever say that of Christians when my own holy book, the Qur’an, tells me that in the entire world those that are nearest in love to me are those who believe in Jesus Christ [AS]? I ask, who, intending to win any election, ever does that? How can I choose southern Christian running mates [Chuba Okadigbo of blessed memory, Pastor Tunde Bakare and Pastor YemiOsinbajo] and with them by my side make such silly utterances? 

Because they have no record, they must seek to destroy our own; and because they have no integrity, they feel they must impugn our own.

We must reject those who propagate hatred, ethnicity, divisiveness, sectionalism or seek to manipulate our religious differences in such cynical fashion. On our part, we will remain undeterred: our commitment is to bring about change in the way we live and think and work in this nation; and our goal is to ensure a decent existence for all. And, by the Grace of God, that is what we will do—we will remain true to our commitment and we will achieve our goal.

May God bless Nigeria and its people for all time.

General Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR

Nigerian Military reportedly begins operation in Sambisa forest

According to reports, the Nigerian military has commenced operations at Sambisa forest to reclaim it from Boko Haram. According to Punch, the military action started on Monday Feb. 9th with Nigerian Air Force pilots carrying out airstrikes on the dreaded forest. A source who spoke to Punch said;

"The military has started the operation in the Sambisa Forest; the operation started on Monday. For now there is no specific cases of arrest, we don’t have that information now. The Air Force has been operating in the area since Monday. It is after that that the ground troops who are on red alert would move in."

Also, a source close to a security office strategic to the operations of the Federal Government said on Wednesday that a lot of activities were going on simultaneously in the Sambisa area and other parts of the North East.”.

The National Security Adviser had on Monday said that the Nigerian military would take out all known camps of Boko Haram within the 6 weeks period of election postponement.

Postponed election, an act of desperation from an incumbent terrified of losing - Chimamanda Adichie

In a piece titled "Democracy, Deferred", award winning author, Chimamanda Adichie described the recent postponement of the general elections as an act of desperation from an incumbent terrified of losing. Below is the article published on The Atlantic...

Last week, Victor, a carpenter, came to my Lagos home to fix a broken chair. I asked him whom he preferred as Nigeria’s next president: the incumbent, Goodluck Jonathan, or his challenger, Muhammadu Buhari. "I don’t have a voter’s card, but if I did, I would vote for somebody I don’t like,” he said. 'I don’t like Buhari but Jonathan is not performing.”

Victor sounded like many people I know: utterly unenthusiastic about the two major candidates in our upcoming election.

Were Nigerians to vote on likeability alone, Jonathan would win. He is mild-mannered and genially unsophisticated, with a conventional sense of humor. Buhari has a severe, ascetic air about him, a rigid uprightness; it is easy to imagine him in 1984, leading a military government whose soldiers routinely beat up civil servants. Neither candidate is articulate. Jonathan is given to rambling; his unscripted speeches leave listeners vaguely confused. Buhari is thick-tongued, his words difficult to decipher. In public appearances, he seems uncomfortable not only with the melodrama of campaigning but also with the very idea of it. To be a democratic candidate is to implore and persuade, and his demeanor suggests a man who is not at ease with amiable consensus. Still, he is no stranger to campaigns. This is his third run as a presidential candidate; the last time, in 2011, he lost to Jonathan.

This time, Buhari’s prospects are better. Jonathan is widely perceived as ineffectual, and the clearest example, which has eclipsed his entire presidency, is his response to Boko Haram. Such a barbaric Islamist insurgency would challenge any government. But while Boko Haram bombed and butchered, Jonathan seemed frozen in a confused, tone-deaf inaction. Conflicting stories emerged of an ill-equipped army, of a corrupt military leadership, of northern elites sponsoring Boko Haram, and even of the government itself sponsoring Boko Haram.

Jonathan floated to power, unprepared, on a serendipitous cloud. He was a deputy governor of Bayelsa state who became governor when his corrupt boss was forced to quit. Chosen as vice president because powerbrokers considered him the most harmless option from southern Nigeria, he became president when his northern boss died in office. Nigerians gave him their goodwill—he seemed refreshingly unassuming—but there were powerful forces who wanted him out, largely because he was a southerner, and it was supposed to be the north’s ‘turn’ to occupy the presidential office.

And so the provincial outsider suddenly thrust onto the throne, blinking in the chaotic glare of competing interests, surrounded by a small band of sycophants, startled by the hostility of his traducers, became paranoid. He was slow to act, distrustful and diffident. His mildness came across as cluelessness. His response to criticism calcified to a single theme: His enemies were out to get him. When the Chibok girls were kidnapped, he and his team seemed at first to believe that it was a fraud organized by his enemies to embarrass him. His politics of defensiveness made it difficult to sell his genuine successes, such as his focus on the long-neglected agricultural sector and infrastructure projects. His spokespeople alleged endless conspiracy theories, compared him to Jesus Christ, and generally kept him entombed in his own sense of victimhood.

The delusions of Buhari’s spokespeople are better packaged, and obviously free of incumbency’s crippling weight. They blame Jonathan for everything that is wrong with Nigeria, even the most multifarious, ancient knots. They dismiss references to Buhari’s past military leadership, and couch their willful refusal in the language of ‘change,’ as though Buhari, by representing change from Jonathan, has also taken on an ahistorical saintliness.

I remember the Buhari years as a blur of bleakness. I remember my mother bringing home sad rations of tinned milk, otherwise known as “essential commodities”—the consequences of Buhari’s economic policy. I remember air thick with fear, civil servants made to do frog jumps for being late to work, journalists imprisoned, Nigerians flogged for not standing in line, a political vision that cast citizens as recalcitrant beasts to be whipped into shape.

Buhari’s greatest source of appeal is that he is widely perceived as non-corrupt. Nigerians have been told how little money he has, how spare his lifestyle is. But to sell the idea of an incorruptible candidate who will fight corruption is to rely on the disingenuous trope that Buhari is not his party. Like Jonathan’s People’s Democratic Party, Buhari’s All Progressives Congress is stained with corruption, and its patrons have a checkered history of exploitative participation in governance. Buhari’s team is counting on the strength of his perceived personal integrity: his image as a good guy forced by realpolitik to hold hands with the bad guys, who will be shaken off after his victory.

In my ancestral home state of Anambra, where Jonathan is generally liked, the stronger force at play is a distrust of Buhari, partly borne of memories of his military rule, and partly borne of his reputation, among some Christians, as a Muslim fundamentalist. When I asked a relative whom she would vote for, she said, “Jonathan of course. Am I crazy to vote for Buhari so that Nigeria will become a sharia country?”

Nigeria has predictable voting patterns, as all democratic countries do. Buhari can expect support from large swaths of the core north, and Jonathan from southern states. Region and religion are potent forces here. Vice presidents are carefully picked with these factors in mind: Buhari’s is a southwestern Christian and Jonathan’s is a northern Muslim. But it is not so simple. There are non-northerners who would ordinarily balk at voting for a ‘northerner’ but who support Buhari because he can presumably fight corruption. There are northern supporters of Jonathan who are not part of the region’s Christian minorities.

Delaying the elections is a staggeringly self-serving act of contempt for Nigerians.
Last week, I was indifferent about the elections, tired of television commercials and contrived controversies. There were rumors that the election, which was scheduled for February 14, would be postponed, but there always are; our political space is a lair of conspiracies. I was uninterested in the apocalyptic predictions. Nigeria was not imploding. We had crossed this crossroads before, we were merely electing a president in an election bereft of inspiration. And the existence of a real opposition party that might very well win was a sign of progress in our young democracy

Then, on Saturday, the elections were delayed for six weeks. Nigeria’s security agencies, we were told, would not be available to secure the elections because they would be fighting Boko Haram and needed at least another month and a half to do so. (Nigeria has been fighting Boko Haram for five years, and military leaders recently claimed to be ready for the elections.)

Even if the reason were not so absurd, Nigerians are politically astute enough to know that the postponement has nothing to do with security. It is a flailing act of desperation from an incumbent terrified of losing. There are fears of further postponements, of ploys to illegally extend Jonathan’s term. In a country with the specter of a military coup always hanging over it, the consequences could be dangerous. My indifference has turned to anger. What a staggeringly self-serving act of contempt for Nigerians. It has cast, at least for the next six weeks, the darkest possible shroud over our democracy: uncertainty.

Presidency & Military in secret meeting to Rig 2015 Elections the way they did in Ekiti

Loyal and powerful agents in the Presidency are said to be holding a three-day meeting with all commanders of Army formations on plans to rig the rescheduled general elections, the main opposition party, All Progressives Congress, APC, has alleged.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday in Abuja, the APC national chairman, John Oyegun, said the "rig out APC" meetings are currently ongoing in Kaduna.

Before the APC press conference, a military insider had written to Premium Times as follows:

“The Presidency has forwarded a secret memo to all commanders of divisions, battalions of the Nigerian Army for a 3-day strategic meeting in Kaduna from Monday. Agenda: ‘How to use military to intimidate voters in APC states, to rig elections in favour of GEJ.”

But the military has denied any such meeting.

The Director of Defence Information, Chris Olukolade, a Major General, said, “I’m not aware of any meeting between the military and politicians. All I know is that Kaduna is an area where a lot of military training and exercises go on regularly.” 

On his part, APC said Nigerians should remember that they shouted that the Presidency planned to shift the date of the election, many people did not believe them, today Nigerians know the truth.

Actress Yvonne Okoro wants you guys to see her stuffs

The popular actress is not leaving much to the imagination, she just want you guys to know that she's got what you love and will flaunt them how and when she wants to. Check out more photos...

We killed our youth leader in revenge —Self-confessed Dey Bam cult member

A wanted suspect in connection with the murder of a youth leader at Ebubu community in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State, Emmanuel Jeremiah (22) has been arrested by the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) of the Rivers State Police Command.

Jeremiah, who is reported to be a member of Dey Bam cult in the community, had been at large since the killing of the youth leader, William Adantha Samora, in 2013. His other cult members whose names were given as Asegoo, Nnanna, Parass, Sky Bee, Slim Body, Philip and Mba, led by a young man, simply called Mopol, were arrested after the incident and charged to Magistrates’ Court 2, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. .

Crime Reports’ findings revealed that Jeremiah and his cult group members were at a burial ceremony in their community called Ebubu on the fateful day when the deceased, who was also the vice president of youths in the community, hit one Ogoni boy, a member of Dey Bam cult group, with his vehicle.

The Dey Bam cult group members were said to have been upset at the death of one of them and had held an emergency meeting where it was decide that they would deal with the vice president that very night. The Vice President of Youth allegedly belonged to the Iceland cult group.

At about 10 p.m. same day, after the meeting, it was learnt, the Dey Bam cult members proceeded to Samora’s house where they met him eating. After surrounding his house, one of the cult members shot the youth leader in the head through the window. Immediately, after the shooting, they rushed into his house and inflicted machete cuts on him. A police source informed Crime Reports that Jeremiah was with a machete on the fateful day and was believed to have inflicted the machete cuts on the deceased.

Though he escaped arrest at the time the offence was committed, Jeremiah was apprehended on December 4, 2014. Crime Reports learnt that Jeremiah had always been regarded as a bad boy which caused him to be disowned by his father who is a retired police officer.

In an interaction with Crime Reports, Jeremiah opened up on his involvement in the case: 

“I joined Dey Bam cult in 2005. I was just 12 years old. I was lured into joining the cult. I went to my community to spend holiday, not knowing that some of the young boys were making plans to make me join their cult group. They told me they liked me and wanted to be my friends. They said I should come close to them but I refused. They noticed that I distanced myself from them and threatened me.

“They later used a friend of mine, Branson, to lure me to a party. Branson is also known as Papa. Before I knew what was happening, they had brought out knives, axes and guns and threatened to kill me if I did not cooperate with them, saying that nobody would know my whereabouts.

“They asked me to pull off my clothes, except my boxers. They blindfolded me and asked me to lie down. They started beating me, shot at the ground and also broke bottle on the ground. They did incantations and poured libation. That was how I became a member.

“After this, I did not move very close to them because my father was a strict and disciplined man.”

Giving an account of what happened the day the vice president was killed, Jeremiah said:

“When Samora made his intention known that he wanted to lead the youths in Ebube community to curb the problem that existed, youths supported him, irrespective of the cult group they belonged to, though he was a known Iceland man.

“But to our surprise, he started being partial. Anytime his cult members came to the community to foment trouble, he would keep mum and would not caution them. If it was any other group, he would inform the police and those caught would be charged to court and sent to prison.

“On the day of the incident, we were at a burial. The deceased belonged to us because she was grandmother to one of our members.  We were there celebrating when we saw that people started running. While we wondered what was happening, we saw Samora’s group approaching our gathering. We learnt that one of our invited guests was hit by the vice president and he died. That was how the celebration was brought to an abrupt end as everyone fled.

“Knowing that there was likely to be a reprisal, Samora’s men started shooting sporadically that we had to retreat so that none of us would be hit. My own cult group led by Mopol held a meeting and we decided to invade Samora’s house.

“We went there at about 10 a.m., and met him eating with one of his friends. One of us shot him. Though I had a cutlass, I was not bold enough to use it on him, so someone did the job until we saw that he was dead. His friend was also hit by bullet and he died too.

“After Samora’s death, his group came out and started looking for those who killed their leader. They killed three people, including one native doctor, whom they accused of doing juju for Dey Bam members, and two others. I ran to my uncle’s place in Enugu State to escape the group’s wrath. I came back to Ebubu in December, 2014 and I was arrested.”

Jeremiah revealed to Crime Reports that he fell out of favour with his father because of the wife he married after his mother’s death.

“The woman started maltreating me and my sister and my father used to listen to whatever she told him.

“I ran away but later returned. The woman did not accept me back and my father also joined her by calling my mother a witch, saying he didn’t know why he married my mother. That was why I sought solace among my friends.”

The suspect also admitted taking marijuana but said “e no too tey” (it was just a short while back).

Confirming the arrest, the Police Public Relations Officer in Rivers State, Muhammadu Ahmad, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said that the suspect would be charged to court after the completion of investigation

Bobbi Kristina will be taken off life support on the 3rd anniversary of mom's death

Bobbi Kristina will be taken off life support tomorrow ... on the 3rd anniversary of Whitney Houston's death ...TMZ has learned.

Brown family sources tell us Bobby has finally made the decision, realizing there is no hope for his 21-year-old daughter to recover.

A source connected with Houston's family told TMZ on Sunday ... Cissy Houston, Whitney's mom, wanted life support pulled on the anniversary of her daughter's death to "bond mother and daughter for eternity." We have not confirmed this, but the NY Post ran the story this AM.Members of the Brown family are extremely emotional, sobbing over the decision but realizing it's the right thing to do.

JEGA MUST GO SECRET PLOT: The Fight Is Getting Bloody

In sane countries, public officers with independent minds are respected but in Nigeria, if you can't do things the way the sitting President or his associates want, then you are a problem and they will do everything to make sure you resign or be disgraced out of office, nigeriantopsecret.blogspot.com  observed.

But how can our Nation grow with this crazy mentality? As you read this, the plot to sack the Chairman of the INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, is gathering momentum, according to PUNCH investigations.

Findings revealed that the “sins” committed by Jega include alleged transfer of INEC officials considered close to the PDP to new departments where their input might not be useful in the 2015 elections.

It was also gathered that the PDP members, who are close to the Presidency, feel that Jega is becoming unapproachable on issues that could help them win the election...

Jega’s tenure ends officially on June 30 but his traducers are compiling what they described as his ‘sins’.

A source in the Presidency, who did not want his name in print, said that the reason the INEC boss gave for the postponement of the elections had negatively affected the credibility of the Presidency and the PDP.

He said, “The way Jega spoke at the press briefing where he announced the postponement of the polls, was meant to implicate the PDP and the Presidency.

“This was why everybody, including foreign governments, have been blaming the leadership of the country for the postponement of the elections.

“The summary of Jega’s presentation was that INEC was ready but that the security agencies, whose headships are appointees of the President, frustrated the commission’s desire to hold the elections on February 14 and 28.”

He added that some national leaders of the PDP would meet with President Goodluck Jonathan and members of his electioneering team this week to review the presidential campaign.

The meeting, according to him, will also “discuss the wisdom in sending Jega on terminal leave any moment from now because of his perceived sins.”

He added, “Close friends of the President in the party and the stakeholders will meet to review the campaigns and I can tell you that the issue about Jega matter would certainly be discussed. We have received several reports on this matter and I can assure you that it would be looked into and a decision taken.”

Further investigations showed that before the postponement of the elections, the military had directed its commands nationwide to prepare operational methodology for the exercise.

A reliable military officer told PUNCH that they were surprised to hear Jega blame the poll postponement on the unpreparedness of the military.

He said, “We were astonished to hear that we were not prepared and all that. How many officers do we have in the North-East? How many of our men were deployed for the last governorship election in Osun State? So there are things we have not been told about the elections.”

However, some political parties under the aegis of the Coalition of Progressive Political Parties, have vowed to frustrate any attempt to stop Jega from conducting the elections.

The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Movement, Bashir Ibrahim, who spoke for the group, said though the INEC chairman played into the hands of PDP by rescheduling the election dates, “we are going to resist the move to remove him from office.

“The role of the election management board led by Jega in shifting the dates of the election may not be the best, but any move to remove him will be resisted,” Bashir added.

Also on Monday, a coalition of 18 civil society organisations called for the immediate resignation of the service chiefs “for arm-twisting INEC’’ and for abdication of national responsibility.

The CSOs which passed a vote of confidence in Jega, explained that they were calling for the resignation of the service chiefs because their action was “a clear indication of the abyss to which the military had descended to.”

Chairman of the Transitional Monitoring Group, Ibrahim Zikirullahi, spoke on behalf of the group:

“The most worrisome reality is that the Nigerian military, which is supposed to be nationalistic and patriotic in outlook, has allowed itself to be led by those they serve for expressly narrow interests.

“To say the least, the military has failed the Nigerian people. It is a betrayal of trust for the military in connivance with the National Security Adviser to have allowed itself to be used to suspend Nigeria’s electoral process.

“The grand conspiracy to arm-twist INEC to shift the 2015 general elections to satisfy narrow political considerations is a clear indication of the abyss to which the military has descended.

“The claim that they will not be able to protect INEC personnel and materials for the polls that were to hold on 14 and 28 February 2015, is a national disgrace and embarrassment.”