Politics
THE Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has charged new Resident Electoral Commissioners, RECs, to acquaint themselves with the processes and procedures of the commission.
Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of INEC, gave the charge at the induction retreat for new RECs on Monday in Lagos.
“As new RECs, we should focus on how we can acquaint ourselves more with the processes and procedures of the Commission.
“For the veterans, we should leverage on our privileged field experience to contribute on how to mitigate recurring challenges in the areas of pre-election and post-election litigations and operational issues.
“Especially in the area of logistics, improvement on voter education processes, issues of strategic communication and combating fake news, misinformation and disinformation.
“As well as inclusivity in the electoral process, voter registration, allotting voters to polling units, the role of technology from pre-election activities to election Day processes, political party issues mainly arising from leadership crisis and the management of party primaries, the recruitment and training of election duty officials, election security and our own code of conduct,” Yakubu said.
The chairman noted that retreat is an opportunity to review performance, reappraise processes, discuss innovations, engage service providers, interface with lawmakers on critical areas of reform and explore new frontiers in the Commission’s continuous effort to improve organisational capacity for better service delivery.
According to him, in a well organised retreat such as this one, there is always something new to learn.
“Upon reflection, there is also new experience to share with colleagues.
“However, always bear in mind that the cardinal objective is improved service delivery.
“I urge you to listen attentively to the presentations and, most importantly, contribute to discussions in a solution-oriented manner,” Yakubu said.
He reminded them that the reality of the work done in INEC is that there is no election season in Nigeria at all as elections are held all-year round in addition to numerous electoral activities such as voter registration.
“Even today’s retreat is holding against the background of forthcoming governorship elections in Edo State in the next 81 days and Ondo State in 137 days.
“In addition, there are five pending bye-elections for Babura/Garki Federal Constituency of Jigawa State and four State constituencies: Khana II of Rivers State, Bagwai/Shanono of Kano State, Zaria Kewaye of Kaduna State and Ganye of Adamawa State.
“These outstanding bye-elections bring the total of such elections to 14 since the inauguration of the national and state assemblies in June last year.
“Looking forward, there are four major elections before the next General Election in 2027. The Anambra State Governorship election next year will be followed in 2026 by the Ekiti and Osun State Governorship elections and, I must remind you in case you forget, the Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
He expressed the Commission’s deepest appreciation to the Development Associates Inc. DAI, and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, IFES, for supporting the retreat in particular and many other activities of the Commission in general.
He noted that the presence and goodwill messages of the DAI Team Leader, Rudolf Elbling and the IFES Country Director, Seray Jay, is a further affirmation of their commitment to transparent and inclusive electoral process in Nigeria.
“We wish to reassure you that INEC remains committed to these ideals just as we are determined to continue to push the boundaries of credible and inclusive elections in Nigeria,” Yakubu added.
F.A
July 2, 2024
Tags: INEC new RECs retreat
