The Independent National Electoral Commission on Wednesday insisted that it is not answerable to any other person except Nigerians in the discharge of its duties.
Commission’s Chairman, Prof Yakubu Mahmud, stated this during a meeting with members of the civil society groups at a session in Abuja.
“We are only answerable to Nigerians and will continue to defend the integrity of the electoral process. It is for this reason that we cherish our partnership with the civil society. I wish to reassure you that we will continue to work together for the improvement of our electoral process,” he told the gathering.
The INEC chairman said with three months to the next General Election, out of 14 activities listed in the Timetable and Schedule of Activities released by the Commission on 26th February 2022, 9 have so far implemented. He said the commission has made “tremendous progress in the production and delivery of critical sensitive and non-sensitive election materials to our State offices.” He said the recruitment and training of ad hoc staff for the election are ongoing.
“On electoral logistics, particularly the arrangements for the movement of personnel and materials to various locations during elections, the Commission met again with the service providers and reviewed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the road transport unions. Arising from our experience in previous elections, the Commission has expanded the scope of collaboration to include the marine union for the the riverine areas. Very soon, the revised MoU will be signed with the service providers to cover both land and maritime transportation.”
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He however gave four broad areas that Nigerians would like to receive assurances of the progress the Commission is making and challenges (if any) being encountered. “They are security, campaign finance, technology, the Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) and assurances that their votes will count on Election Day,” he said
On security, Mahmud said the Commission has said repeatedly that it is an area of concern. “The Commission has the responsibility to conduct elections. However, securing the environment for the deployment of personnel and materials as well as the peaceful conduct of elections is a shared responsibility involving the security agencies, the political actors and their supporters, the media and all other critical stakeholders. The perennial insecurity in the country is a source for concern. This existing challenge is compounded by the unfortunate incidents of attacks on campaigns, rallies and processions across all political parties. Although the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 and the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties are clear, the Commission has found it necessary to remind political parties, candidates and their supporters on the provisions of the law and their responsibilities. Accordingly, tomorrow Thursday 24th November 2022, the Commission will release a summary highlighting the legal provisions governing the conduct of political rallies, processions and campaigns. This will be uploaded to our website and social media platforms.”
He said the Commission held an emergency meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) in the wake of the recent condemnable attacks on our Local Government offices in Ogun and Osun States. Far-reaching resolutions were arrived at, including the deployment of joint security teams to our facilities nationwide. He added, “Beyond that, the Inspector General of Police summoned an extraordinary meeting with leaders of political parties on the imperative of peaceful campaigns. We will continue to follow up on that bold step in our engagement with political parties and other critical stakeholders.”
On campaign financing, he said INEC is determined to tackle the matter frontally. He said areas of violation include party and candidate expenditure beyond what is provided by law and the diabolical practice of vote buying at polling units on Election Day. “Here again, the Commission will tomorrow Thursday 24th November 2022 publish a summary of the guidelines on finances and election expenses of parties and candidates. Beyond that, we are mobilising every national institution with the responsibility for tracking and combating the illicit flow of funds as well as the broadcast and print media regulatory agencies to confront the problem head-on. The details of this will be unveiled shortly,” he said
He reminded Nigerians that the Electoral Act 2022 requires the Commission to deploy technology on Election Day for voter accreditation and the upload of polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal. “These processes will be achieved through the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS). I wish to reassure Nigerians that the BVAS has come to stay as the only means of voter accreditation. There will be no incident form on election day. Results from polling units will be uploaded to the IReV portal in real-time. Nigerians will view the results as they are uploaded. “For the last two years beginning from August 2020, the Commission has published results direct from polling units in 105 off-cycle Governorship and bye-elections in real-time and the results can still be viewed on the IReV portal. The 2023 General Election will not be different. There is no truth in any insinuation to the contrary. This should put to rest the erroneous notion that Nigerians will not have the opportunity to view polling unit results uploaded by Presiding Officers in real-time on Election Day.”
Giving details n the collection of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) for fresh registrations in 2022 as well as applicants for transfer to other polling units and the replacement of damaged or lost cards, he assured Nigerians that the Commission will soon release the timelines and procedure for the collection of PVCs. “With the ongoing display of the register for claims and objections, the Commission considered it appropriate to conclude the process so that the cards will not be in the hands of ineligible registrants who may attempt to use them during the election. We understand the anxiety of Nigerians to collect their PVCs and appeal for a little patience as we speedily conclude the necessary safeguards for a transparent process.”