Pro-Jonathan group protest against Jega in Lagos

Thousands of Odua Peoples Congress and the
Coalition of Concerned Nigerians members loyal
to the Peoples Democratic Party took over three
major roads in Lagos on Monday demanding the
sack of the Chairman of the Independent National
Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega.
The protesters, who wore T-shirts with PDP
inscriptions and pictures of President Goodluck
Jonathan, started gathering in front of the Federal
Road Safety Commission near the old Lagos Toll
Gate on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway as early as
7am.
From there, they proceeded on foot and in about
100 buses to the front of the Teslim Balogun
Stadium in Surulere, causing traffic jam on the
ever busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Ikorodu
Road and Funso Williams(Western) Avenue in the
city.
The demonstrators, who wielded broken bottles
and knives, also displayed banners and posters
calling for Jega’s removal.
They destroyed outdoor adverts of All
Progressives Congress candidates on the street
lights along the highways.
A LASTMA official claimed that some of the
demonstrators stormed their Anthony office,
chased them away and released many impounded
vehicles to their owners.
The National Coordinator of the OPC, Chief Gani
Adams, led the protest which had some popular
actors and musicians such as Zack Orji, Alex
Usifo, Paul Obazele, Obesere and Saheed Osupa,
participating.
The protest forced motorists to seek alternative
routes. Many passengers, most of whom were
rushing to their respective offices, had to
disembark from commercial vehicles and trekked
long distances to escape the snarl.
The absence of Lagos State Traffic Management
Agency officials from the highways emboldened
the confidence of the protesters, some of whom
drove against traffic and others on the restricted BRT lanes.
Policemen from the state command and soldiers
attached to OP MESA provided security for the
demonstrators who distributed Jonathan’s
campaign leaflets to passers-by and motorists
stuck in traffic. The leaflets contained the
‘‘achievements’’ of Jonathan.
Some of the protesters gave out fliers that bore
the ‘‘sins’’ of Jega.
One of the fliers read, “Over five million people
have yet to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards in
the South-West; over 2.5 million persons in the
South-South and two million in the South-East
while Jega claimed to have recorded 90 per cent
distribution in the North, despite the high level of
insecurity in the North-East.
“There is illegal registration of underage voters in
the North, registration of nationals of Chad, Niger
Republic and Cameroon. Over one million PVCs
have been recovered from them by security agents and yet Jega cannot give an explanation.
“It is obvious that Jega is playing a well scripted Northern agenda as he has positioned northerners
to the most sensitive INEC positions .
“The creation of over 30, 000 polling units now
termed voting centres in the North against the
South-West and awarding the contract of
sensitive INEC materials such as PVCs and ballot
papers to foreign companies traced to APC leaders.
“Plotting to create chaos and unrest in Nigeria by
insisting on holding elections on February 14
when he was aware that 34 per cent of Nigerians
in the South-West had yet to obtain their PVCs.”
Some of their placards read, “Jega must go”, Jega
pushing Northern agenda.”
See photo of some men destroying APC posters.
Source: punch newspaper

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