April 27, 2010
Acting President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan today fired Maurice Iwu, the controversial chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). However, in a move that one of our sources described as “deeply disturbing,” Dr. Jonathan plans to appoint Philip Umeadi, Jr., an electoral commissioner with a fraudulent past and reputation, to step into Iwu’s shoes.Acting President Jonathan ordered Iwu, whose conduct of the 2007 general elections earned universal condemnation, to proceed on compulsory and terminal leave. Jonathan’s decision to send Iwu on pre-disengagement leave with immediate effect came after the embattled INEC boss had tried a variety of tricks and maneuvers to retain his job.
“Today’s decision to axe Professor Iwu is an indication that all his efforts in sponsoring hired supporters to carry placards in support of him have failed,” said an Abuja-based lawyer.
Saharareporters had earlier revealed that Iwu, a professor of pharmacology who forged his first degree, was in line to be removed after the sack of the notorious former Attorney General Michael Aondoakaa, the National Security Adviser General Sarki Muktar (rtd), and the General Managing Director of the NNPC, Sanusi Barkindo. We also reported that the chair of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mrs. Farida Waziri, is likely to lose her job.
Our sources in the State Department indicated that Nigeria’s Acting President had made a firm commitment to the US government to relieve Iwu of his post without delay. In fact, the source revealed that the US had expected Jonathan to sack Iwu prior to the acting president’s recent visit to the US.
A source close to Iwu told Saharareporters that Iwu knew of his impending removal. But instead of accepting his fate, he “ignored the advice of some of us and began to hire demonstrators to embark on a series of protests aimed at condemning his removal,” said the source. The protesters, who were sometimes led by Charly Boy Oputa, an eccentric showman, touted Iwu as a seasoned electoral umpire with the best experience to organize future elections.
As soon as Jonathan arrived from the US, Iwu sent Governor Ikedi Ohakim of Imo State to lobby the acting president on his behalf. Senate President David Mark also pleaded on Iwu’s behalf. One source in the Presidency revealed that Jonathan had planned to send Iwu packing last week, but that Senator Mark persuaded him to tarry.
However, senior US officials were unyielding in calling for Iwu's removal. One member of the Council on Foreign Relations, where Jonathan spoke during his visit, told us that many council members “were taken aback by Mr. Jonathan’s statements that suggested he didn’t recognize the perception crisis that Mr. Iwu posed to Nigeria's forthcoming elections,” adding, “we basically hoped the acting president was merely engaging in diplomatic language.”
A source close to Jonathan confessed that the acting president was compelled to act today as his popularity continues to plummet amongst Nigerians who have begun to see him as another “go-slow” president, a sobriquet once reserved for ailing Nigerian leader, Umaru Yar'adua. “Iwu had to be told to leave immediately to salvage Dr. Jonathan's pledge to deliver on electoral reform,” a source in the Presidency told Saharareporters.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed Iwu to the top post at INEC to assist in Obasanjo’s desire to run for a third term in office. But when the third term plan was frustrated, Iwu became instrumental in ensuring that Obasanjo’s candidates were rigged into office across Nigeria in what has been described as Nigeria's worst election in history.
Iwu’s checkered history has been chronicled by Saharareporters in numerous reports. Our investigative team discovered that Iwu never earned a genuine bachelor’s degree certificate from Cameroon, contrary to his claim to Bradford University in London where he was admitted to study for a masters and a PhD in Pharmacognosy by research (herbal medicine).
Saharareporters also discovered that in the early 1990’s, Mr. Iwu stole funds from CITIBANK in the US after the bank accidentally credited his checking account with more than $50,000.
All efforts to bring Iwu’s fraudulent history to the attention of Nigerians were frustrated by former Governor Bola Tinubu of Lagos who went round the media to stop the publication of Iwu's certificate scandal. A source close to Tinubu said the former governor feared that Iwu’s certificate troubles could revive Tinubu’s own certificate scandal. Tinubu, who attended Chicago State University, falsely claimed that he had graduated from the University of Chicago.
Tinubu’s decision to protect Iwu was also dictated by his plan in 2007 to run in Lagos for one of the Senate seats. The former governor later dropped his senatorial bid as the EFCC confronted him with a series of corruption scandals.
Even as Nigerians celebrate Iwu’s ouster, many in the pro-democracy movement expressed their horror at the hints that Jonathan planned to ask Philip Umeadi, Jr. to be the next INEC chairman as INEC’s most senior commissioner, Victor Chukwuani was also forced on a disengagement leave today.
“Philip Umeadi and Iwu are, in fact, in the same league in terms of their openness to fraud and corruption,” said a source whose group monitors elections in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa.
Investigations by Saharareporters revealed that Umeadi was rusticated from the University of Benin for cheating in his exams. A variety of sources have also confirmed to us that Umeadi, Jr., whose father was an eminent lawyer, also had a well-known history of drug use.
A source close to Jonathan told Saharareporters that the acting president had initially wanted to nominate a retired jurist to the INEC job, but changed his mind “after finding out that the former justice may be close to General Babangida.” Babangida, who was Nigeria’s ruler from 1985 to 1993, has announced a bid for the presidency. His candidacy has provoked widespread condemnation by Nigerians who still remember his legacy of corruption and his annulment of the June 12, 1993 election.
Our source said he was aware that Jonathan “is seriously considering running for the presidency himself, hence his leaning towards Umeadi.”
A source within the European Union told Saharareporters that he was not aware of Umeadi’s status. “However, if he has something in his past that should call his credentials as a fair umpire into question, then, yes, the EU would hope that a less divisive successor be put forward,” he said.
See Philip Umeadi, Jnr's Story here:
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('comments'); });
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content1'); });
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content2'); });