CLO faults plan to appoint Iwu as envoy to Brazil

Thursday, 24 June 2010 00:00
THE Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) has faulted what it considered as the Federal Government’s plan to appoint former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Maurice Iwu as Nigeria’s Ambassador to Brazil.
According to CLO, as an organisation in the forefront of the struggle for the enthronement of the rule of law, justice, equity and transparency in governance, it finds the planned appointment of Iwu as Nigeria’s envoy to Brazil running against the grain of public expectation.
In a statement by the Acting President of CLO, Igho Akeregha, the group said: “It is trite that every Nigerian has the right to aspire for appointment into any office but the CLO, like most Nigerians will be disappointed if President Goodluck Jonathan has indeed concluded plans to appoint Iwu as a foreign envoy representing the country in a strategic country as Brazil. If President Jonathan proceeds with the appointment of Iwu, it will clearly show to Nigerians that he cannot be trusted with his promises to rid the country of the vestiges of corruption and restore sanity to the polity.
“The CLO notes that as INEC chairman for five years, Prof. Iwu conducted the 2007 general election and other bye-elections in the country. The elections were regarded across the world as a charade and a mockery of democracy whereas only Iwu and those who criminally benefited from the electoral shenanigan celebrated its outcome. It took unprecedented courage on the part of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua to admit the gaping injustices of the election on May 29, 2007, the day he was sworn in as President and key beneficiary of that flawed election.
“Since the so-called elections which clearly failed to reflect the political aspiration of many Nigerians, and the emergence of President Jonathan, who has used every auspicious occasion to reassure Nigerians that his administration will guarantee a ‘one man, one vote’ exercise in the 2010 general elections, the CLO regrets that there is hardly any evidence of sincerity on the part of the president. During his first Presidential Media Chat held on Sunday June 20,2010 in Abuja, President Jonathan was evasive when asked if he would run in the next year’s presidential elections.”
The group added: “The CLO contends that it is the constitutional right of the President to contest the presidential election if he so wishes, but it must be based on transparency and his deliverables.
“The CLO wish to advice President Jonathan, that if he is indeed contemplating the appointment of Iwu as an envoy to Brazil or any other country, he should shelve the idea because of public perception of his role when he was INEC Chairman. During his recent visit to the United States, President Barack Obama also expressed concern on the role of INEC in organising a free and fair poll for the country next year given its past unenviable record.
“Needless to say, that the litany of judicial reversals of Iwu’s electoral illegality speaks volumes about his personality and what he stands for. Nigeria does not deserve to have anyone with such doubtful personality representing her at such international arena. The CLO is hoping that the Presidency and the National Assembly will be guided appropriately by what citizens expect at that level of government.”
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