INEC chairmanship: Jonathan’s dilemma

Government’s decision on the vacant position of chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) remained shrouded in uncertainty last night as conflicting reports severally fingered former Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) chairman, Mr. Olisa Agbakoba , and serving Information and Communication Minister, Prof. Dora Akunyili, as President Goodluck Jonathan’s choices for the job.

There were strong indications last weekend that the presidency had settled for Agbakoba, a Senor Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and leading human rights campaigner in keeping with his recent promise to the international community that his choice for the position would be acceptable to civil society groups.
Daily Sun learnt in Abuja yesterday that Agbakoba’s name had indeed featured during cabinet-level discussions, prompting speculations that the search for Prof. Maurice Iwu’s replacement might have been zeroed-in on him. The sudden re-emergence of Akunyili in the equation was said to be a natural response to “pockets of opposition to Agbakoba in certain quarters.”

Akunyili was said to have been Jonathan’s first choice for the job, precipitating the glaring omission of her name from the first ministerial list submitted to the senate by Jonathan, then an acting president.
Akunyili was known to have confided in her close allies that she had been penciled down for the INEC job, and was indeed preparing for the announcement only for her name to inexplicably surface on the ministerial list, a week later.
Some powerful elements in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were said to have strongly kicked against the move to draft Akunyili to INEC. They said she was too principled for their liking. They were believed to have insisted on a more flexible person, raising fears that she would be too independent-minded, self-willed and difficult to manage, thus possibly affecting the fortunes of the party in the forthcoming elections.

Besides, those that were worried by what they described as Akunyili’s uncompromising attitude, opposition also came from pro-Yar’Adua elements who were not happy with the role the minister played in the run-up to the emergence of Jonathan as acting president while his boss was confined to his sick bed.
However, there were feleers from Abuja that the presidency might not be very keen on appointing an outsider to head INEC with only a few months remaining before the next general elections. Depending on what the National Assembly eventually comes up with in its on-going amendment of the electoral laws, the elections might commence as early as next January.

The presidency was said to be reluctant in appointing a green horn to man INEC against the backdrop that there were only three serving national commissioners in the commission at present, with one of them completing his tenure, next month. With 10 brand new national commissioners and a rookie chairman at the helms, government was said to be worried that INEC might not be in the position to take full command during the elections.

Last week, the Federal Government reversed its earlier order directing the national commissioner in charge of legal matters, Mr. Victor Chukwuani, to proceed on disengagement leave alongside Iwu to return to complete his tenure. Chukwuani’s tenure was expected to lapse one week after Iwu’s. However, with the glaring dearth of experienced hand among the commissioners presently, government was said to be contemplating reappointing Chukwuani into the commission when his current tenure expires next month.

Jonathan was said to have tinkered with the appointment of Dr. Ishmail Igbani, a former national commissioner in the commission to replace Iwu in a bid to ensure that the in-coming chairman would not have to be a green horn. However, the death of Yar’Adua and the increasing possibility that Jonathan himself might be a candidate in the presidential election meant that, it would not be wise to appoint Igbani who hailedfrom the same geo-political zone with him to be the electoral umpire.