Resolution from the Council of State meeting.

The Council Of State Rejects President Jonathan’s Proposal To Postpone The General Elections.

From Left:  Shagari, Buhari, Babangida and  Shonekan at the Council of State meeting.

 

The Council of State is a body recognized by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which advises the  executive arm of the government, and is chaired by the President, the Vice-President being the deputy chairman.

All former Presidents of the Federation and all former Heads of the Government of the Federation; all former Chief Justices; the President of the Senate; the Speaker of the House of Representatives; all State Governors; and the Attorney-General of the Federation, are members.

The meeting which lasted for eight hours was such that the members could not consent to the call to postpone the general elections. President Jonathan cited security concerns and lack of preparedness by INEC as his reasons for seeking postponement of the elections.

Reacting to this, all the former Heads of State spoke in favor of holding the general elections on February 14th and February 28th, 2015, as scheduled by the electoral commission. 

Muhammadu Buhari, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, also spoke calmly but firmly against the proposal. However, when it was Jega’s time to speak, he shocked the meeting by disclosing that just before he entered the Council chambers, the president’s National Security Advisor, Col.  Sambo Dasuki (Rtd), had handed him a report saying that the security services could not guarantee security during the elections.

 The NSA stated that, 14 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the North East would be compromised.

 Contrarily, Jega argued that the security situation in 14 LGAs should not interfere with the conduct of the election.

Professor Jega also said that all Permanent Voting Cards (PVCs) were ready for voters and that their availability should no longer be considered an issue.

After today’s meeting the Council of State decided that INEC and the security agencies must hold meetings leading to the elections in order to harmonize and coordinate their activities to ensure that all elections are free and fair.