In a recent interview, Mr. Garba Shehu reflected on the 2015 Presidential election, when President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) unseated Dr. Goodluck Jonathan of the People’s Democratic Party.
Speaking on the special end of the year program ‘2019 End Of A Decade’ on Channels Television, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity praised the resilience of democracy, crediting the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, for preserving it.
“We thank God for Jega and the civil society activism at that time because if Jega had caved in, this democracy would have collapsed at that time. So, it is an interesting time that we had lived through and then, it tells a story of the resilience of our democracy and that we shouldn’t just toy with it. It didn’t come cheap, it didn’t come easy.”
Shehu also commented on the APC’s expectations of Jega. He alleged that the party officials closely monitored the election process, stating that there were attempts by the ruling party at that time to seize power.
“For us in the situation room at that time, it was an attempt to grab power or to hold on to power by regime elements or beneficiaries of the system who saw defeat staring them in the face. Before those results got to the INEC chairman and he announced them, you are aware that parties had representatives at the lowest of the point; the polling units and the local councils, and the states… It was obvious to those regime elements at that time that the regime was falling.”