Jega denies being threatened to proceed on leave before 2015 elections

Jega

Former President, Goodluck Jonathan may have been vindicated by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega, who revealed over the weekend that contrary to the rumours that made the rounds shortly before the 2015 elections, he was never threatened or asked to proceed on leave or retirement by anybody or authority.

He asserted that what was in the news then was merely the work of rumour mongers who did not want anything good for the country.

The INEC boss, who tasked the new administration to try its best in ensuring that the hopes and aspirations of Nigerians are realised, explained that during the elections, his security aides were never withdrawn for a second, contrary to what many were made to believe.

Speaking in Lagos at a programme tagged, ‘Afternoon Tea with Professor Attahiru Mohammed Jega’ by EbonyLife TV, Jega said, “In our country, anything is possible. Frankly, the rumour mill in our country is incredible; a lot is manufactured, circulated and assumes a life of its own.

“Sincerely, I did not feel that I was under any threat, nobody threatened me and at no time was my security detail withdrawn.

“Even as I was sitting down at the collation centre, I even got text messages that my security men had been withdrawn, and they were there around me. So there were a lot of things that were said that weren’t true.

“The same thing was said that I was asked to go on retirement or proceed on leave. A lot of rumours about me being asked to proceed on leave were not true.

“Nobody or authority asked me to proceed on retirement or go on leave, and I never contemplated going on leave because I knew there was a job to be done.

“So I thought it was inconceivable for anybody to think that the leadership of INEC was contemplating leaving at that time.