Ekwueme, Adesanya And I Pressured Military Govt To Create INEC As Independent Electoral Body In 1998 – Prof Jerry Gana 

Former Minister of Information and founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prof. Jerry Gana, has revealed that he, late former Vice President Dr. Alex Ekwueme and late pro-democracy leader Senator Abraham Adesanya compelled the military government in 1998 to rename the National Electoral Commission as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as a condition for participating in Nigeria’s transition to democratic rule.

Gana made the disclosure on Saturday while addressing members of a PDP faction during a special convention in Abuja, amid controversy surrounding the sealing off of the event venue by security operatives.

According to him, civilian political leaders refused to endorse the military’s transition programme unless key democratic safeguards were guaranteed, including the independence of the electoral body.

“It is with great pain that I see this situation, that so many years after democracy, we are still being reduced to this,” Gana said.

“We were the ones who negotiated the transition to democracy in Nigeria. When we negotiated with the military government in 1998, we made it clear that we would not be part of the transition programme unless certain conditions were met.”

He recalled that the negotiations were so critical that the then United Nations Secretary-General, Dr. Kofi Annan, travelled from New York to chair the meeting between political leaders and the military authorities at the Nicon Hilton Hotel in Abuja.

Gana said three eminent Nigerians represented the political class during the discussions: the late Dr. Alex Ekwueme, the late Senator Abraham Adesanya and himself.

“The first thing we insisted on was that the Electoral Commission must become the Independent National Electoral Commission. Before then, it was simply the National Electoral Commission,” he said.

“We said no, it must be independent, and they agreed. That is how the name Independent National Electoral Commission came about.”

However, the PDP chieftain expressed disappointment that the commission, in his view, no longer operates independently.

“After so many years of democratic development, is INEC now independent? No. Today’s INEC is really a mess. If you don’t have a good umpire, you can’t have good elections, and democracy cannot survive without credible elections,” he stated.

Gana also condemned the disruption of the faction’s planned special convention, questioning what he described as growing restrictions on democratic freedoms.

“We were supposed to be having a special convention in a well-organised venue, but the police have taken over the place. Are we back to military rule? No,” he said.

He described the situation as a setback for democratic governance and urged party members to remain steadfast in defending democratic principles.

“I want to thank all of you for being courageous. You are defending democracy. Whether they like it or not, democracy must survive. Good governance must survive. Nigerians deserve a better government,” he declared.

The elder statesman said the gathering was determined to proceed with its convention despite the challenges, insisting that the faction would produce a presidential candidate to lead what he described as a struggle for democratic renewal.

“This is a disgrace. Let the whole world know that Nigerian democracy is being challenged because people cannot meet freely,” he said.

“They do not want us to have a presidential candidate because today is the final day. But we are going to have a presidential candidate.”