A former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, on Wednesday warned that if preventive measures were not taken, the prediction on the disintegration of Nigeria will come to pass.
Jega gave the warning on Wednesday in Abuja in a keynote address he delivered at a conference on ‘20 Years of Democracy’, organised by TELL magazine.
It had been predicted in the build-up to the 2015 General Elections that Nigeria would disintegrate.
The anticipated crisis was however averted when former President Goodluck Jonathan readily accepted his loss to President Muhammadu Buhari.
“The CIA thought that 2015 was the do-or-die period for Nigeria, that there would not be a Nigeria in the way you know after the 2015 General Elections. That has come and passed but I think if we do not take care, a lot of these predictions will come to pass. That is why we need to do quite a lot, much more than we have ever done in order to protect the integrity of the electoral process before 2023”, Jega said.
Jega also said the deployment of soldiers and other security operatives during elections was meant to address “systemic security challenges.”
Dignitaries at the event included the Chairman of PUNCH Nigeria Limited, Mrs Angela Emuwa; Publisher of The Source magazine, Comfort Obi; and a former Chief of Staff to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Mike Ogiadomhen.
Source: Punch Newspaper
