Whistle Blower`s Life Threatened …For Exposing How Jega Plotted April 2nd False Start.

For daring to speak up about how Attahiru Jega`s led INEC plotted the false start, in the April 2 nd elections, and how INEC was   ill prepared for the subsequent presidential elections on April 4 th , a local printing contractor   in Nigeria has received death threats.

  A text message sent to him, threatening his life for being a whistle blower reads:

  'You idiot whoever your sponsors are, they will not protect you when we come for after you. You don't know anything about INEC, so shut up your dirty mouth. Be warned'.

  Another text message he received reads:
  'My brother, I read your interview on the failed election. Good but thread softly; Nigeria is not worth dying for yet. Talk no more'

 
However, for the third time within seventy two hours, INEC chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega has chosen to be economical with words.

Rather than take responsibility for his actions, Jega has absolved himself and labeled the contractors, whom he hired single handedly, against the better judgment of many specialist, as saboteurs.

Not holding brief for the contractors, but if anyone should be branded 'saboteur' it should be our activist lecturer turned INEC czar, who lied to Nigerians and the President, who reluctantly refused Jega`s resignation letter over the weekend, as it brought to question the President`s sense of judgment. After all, he hired Jega, a source affirmed

Was it the contractors who waited till March 10 th 2011, three weeks before the elections to award contract for the printing of over five hundred million election materials?   the source asked.

Huhuonline.com understands that Prof. Attahiru Jega rejected contractors who were competent and had excellent track record of delivering because they were from Southern Nigeria. Finding shows that ¾ of the contractors hired by Prof Jega were from the North.

Specifically, one Alhaji Musa, a very close ally of Attahiru Jega and his benefactor (a Presidential aide) received a chunk of the printing job.

The total sum of printing contract awarded to Musa was one hundred and fifty million naira (N150, 000,000.00), which he subsequently subcontracted to UK based Graphic Inline.

Alhaji Musa was first given a work order for Seventy five million naira, and later another Seventy five million naira work order was signed off for him, after a leading printing company (name withheld), rejected the job, because they were over booked.

The other two local contractors are Alhaji Sanni and Alhaji Yerima, who represents Aeroprint and Aero Vote Limited respectively. Aero Vote Limited is a security printing company, based in Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom.

Our checks reveals that Aero Vote Limited, Aero print and Graphic Inline are not new to INEC as the have printed election material for the commission in the past.  

  As huhuonline.com reported previously, besides the material for the National Assembly elections, Huhuonline.com understands that material for the presidential election, originally scheduled for April 9th, but rescheduled to April 16 th are not ready. However INEC has already printed all the materials for the Presidential runoff elections, which simply amount to a case of putting the cart before the horse.   

 
Huhuonline.com findings shows that INEC had contracted a Spanish firm to print one hundred and fifty million ballot papers for the presidential elections. Eighty million of the ballot papers were to be used for presidential, while the other seventy million was for the runoff. Due to conflicting instructions or lack thereof, the company rather than start with the ballot papers for the presidential elections, printed the runoff first.  

 
  According to our sources, they found out they did not have the capacity to print the ballot papers for runoff and main presidential elections; they returned the main to INEC.  

 
Stuck and desperate, Prof Attahiru Jega then re-awarded the printing of the ballot papers for the presidential elections to his crony Alhaji Musa, who had not delivered the first job that was awarded to him.   

Unbeknown to Nigerian registered voters, on April 3 rd 2011, INEC had not taken delivery of  all the electoral materials. Yet, Prof Attahiru Jega in his nationwide broadcast, titled 'we can't afford to fail', said:

'F inally, as elections commence tomorrow, we must seek free, fair, credible and peaceful elections with a vigorous commitment that restores confidence, dispels fear, and moves the nation away from the mistakes of the past. We must do the elections right".

Continuing, Jega said:
'We must not fail each other and we must not fail our dear country'.

But Prof. Attahiru Jega, who in the past had told Nigerians not to expect a "perfect poll", was not true to his words, as he had planned to fail; he did not have the material conduct the elections.Yet he announced that Nigerian should go to the polls.

Embarrassed by the public outcry, Jega hurriedly move the election to the 4 th of April, which also was not a feasible date, until he was prevailed upon by the presidency, (who had received intelligence report that Jega did not have the election materials), and other political parties to move the election to April 9 th .  

However, it remains to be seen if Prof. Attahiru Jega and his select team of contractors will do the election right. We are watching!  

Emmanuel Emeke Asiwe is alumni of Harvard Business School and can be reached @