LAGOS
Powerful forces within Nigeria are contemplating to push for the formation of an interim government in expectation that the Feb. 14 general election will produce a controversial outcome that could plunge the country into crisis.
"Very senior citizens are concerned that neither incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan nor his challenger, Muhammadu Buhari, can appeal to all segments of the country," a well-placed political source privy to the plan told The Anadolu Agency.
"It is believed that an interim government is needed," he said.
Nigerians will go to the polls on Feb. 14 to elect a president and members of parliament.
Nigeria boasts at least 25 registered political parties, while 14 candidates will vie for the presidency. But the February poll is thought by many to be essentially a race between Jonathan and Buhari.
Buhari, a former military ruler, is running on the ticket of the opposition All Progressive Congress, an amalgam of several political interests that have come together to wrest power from the people's Democratic Party, which has ruled the country since its return to democracy in 1999.
The source said certain retired but influential military leaders, politicians and traditional rulers –in both the country's north and south – were unhappy with both of the presidential frontrunners.
"They are planning to ease out Jonathan, who has clearly lost popular support," he suggested.
"But at the same time, they are not comfortable with Buhari, who also has issues with powerful segments of the north and influential statesmen," the political source said.
According to the source, incumbent Defense Minister Aliyu Gusau is tipped to head up the interim government, which they think should rule for at least two years before holding fresh polls.
"Those tinkering with such an idea should not be unmindful of its legal implications," he said.
Following a major political crisis arising from a disputed presidential election, Nigeria had an interim civilian government – headed by Ernest Shonekan – between August and November of 1993.
Shonekan was overthrown on November 17, 1993 in a palace coup carried out by army chief and military dictator Sani Abacha.
The court later declared the arrangement unconstitutional.
"There is no provision for an interim government in the constitution," constitutional lawyer Yemi Akangbe told AA.
"There are court rulings declaring interim governments unconstitutional; I don't think anybody should go against the law," he asserted.
Another Yar'Adua
Another source suggested that plans for an interim government were gaining momentum in the north due to fears of another Yar'Adua scenario if Buhari is elected.
"They don't want another situation where a president of northern extraction dies in office and a southerner takes over," he told AA.
In 2010, President Umaru Yar'Adua, a northerner and a Muslim, died in office three years after being elected.
His deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian and a southerner, took over, abruptly ending the north's turn to hold the presidency for eight years (two four-year terms) in line with the country's tradition of sharing power between north and south.
Parties choose their candidates from either south or north, depending on whose turn it is. South ruled from 1999 to 2007.
"So some powerful northerners are considering two options: back Jonathan to complete his tenure or queue into the interim government arrangement," said the source.
Buhari, 72, allegedly suffers from poor health.
But his party rejects calls for an interim government or to delay the ballot under any circumstances.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visited Nigeria on Sunday where he held separate talks with Jonathan and Buhari.
"The U.S. government strongly believes in Nigeria having credible, free and fair elections next month," he said.
Jonathan, for his part, emphasized his commitment to free, fair and credible elections.
"I made it absolutely clear that the May 29 handover date is sacrosanct," he said in a statement released by State House.
Jonathan's national security adviser, Sambo Dasuki, stirred controversy last week when he told London's Chatham House think-tank that he had asked Nigeria's electoral commission to delay the polls.
The opposition immediately rejected the proposal, dismissing it as an "ill-advised" plot by the ruling party and government to hold onto power.
