Nigeria: My ‘Orubebe’ experience, by Jega

•Alleges certain forces wanted to derail 2015 elections

Erstwhile chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, has explained how he survived the needless provocation engineered by former Minister of Niger-Delta, Mr. Godsday Orubebe during the collation of the March 28 presidential election in Abuja.

He said despite the blackmail and sabotage, he was determined to give Nigerians credible polls. Jega alleged that certain forces were‎ bent on derailing this year’s general elections which was earlier scheduled to commence on February 14, but postponed to March 28 by Jega.

The former INEC boss whose tenure recently expired, gave the revelation in an interview with Zero Tolerancemagazine, published by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).‎ “We were determined to ensure that no matter the provocation, we would ensure that the results were tabulated and announced,” he said.

“So, we did our best knowing that God willing, people can drop and die; but as long as we are alive, we will continue to do our best under all circumstances,” he added.

On March 31, 2015, during the collation of the presidential election results at the International Conference (ICC), Abuja, Mr. Orubebe, supported by agents of the now opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), temporarily disrupted the exercise.

Orubebe, who ambushed the moderator of the exercise, insisted that Jega must respond to his party’s petition, wherein he alleged that the INEC boss was biased in favour of President Muhammadu Buhari and his All Progressives Congress (APC).

Orubebe’s action drew condemnations and was roundly chastised by Jega who ignored his pleas and went ahead with the collation and announcement of the presidential election results.

“I feel satisfied that a lot has happened in INEC and whoever comes will find it easier than we found it when we came in, and will be able to continue to add value to what exists. I knew I was doing this job to the best of my ability without any bias, so, accusations of bias did not really concern me. I tried to remain focused and urged all those with whom I worked with to remain focused. So, we were not distracted.

“I thank God that all those accusations and allegations did not distract us and we remained focused and able to do our best under very difficult circumstances,” Jega added.