Politics
By Benprince Ezeh
THE Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has assured Nigerians that its officials and security agencies will be more professional in conducting the 2023 general elections and other preceding polls.
Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of INEC, said this in his remarks during the commission’s first quarterly meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, ICCES in 2022 on Thursday, January 20, in Abuja.
He noted that while it is the obligation of electorates to determine the outcome of elections, INEC and security agencies have a duty to protect electoral processes to guarantee the integrity of outcomes.
“The conduct of the Anambra Governorship election will go down in history as a remarkable accomplishment. On behalf of INEC, let me seize this opportunity to commend the professionalism of the security agencies without which the peaceful conduct of the election would not have been possible.
“I am confident that the standard of professional conduct displayed by INEC officials and the security agencies in the Edo, Ondo and Anambra State Governorship elections will be maintained in all forthcoming polls, including the 2023 General Election,” he said.
According to him, the committee met seven times as against its four regular yearly meetings during which it strategised on how best to protect INEC facilities from malicious attacks during the course of the 2021 election.
Yakubu, who had in May 2021 warned that unless attacks on INEC facilities were hurriedly checked, the commission might not be able to conduct future elections effectively. The electoral body had recorded 42 attacks on its offices within two years, prompting its management to visit President Muhammadu Buhari for intervention.
He, however, said an additional 1,862 centers would be activated nationwide for its Continuous Voter Registration, CVR, exercise as the country’s security situation improves.
“The CVR exercise has now entered its Third Quarter. I want to assure Nigerians that we are aware of the constraints experienced by many citizens in reaching the 811 designated centres nationwide to register. Some of them are separated by a considerable distance from the places where citizens reside. We are looking forward to activating the additional 1,862 centres nationwide to make it easier for citizens to exercise their right to register as voters.
“At the same time, we are mindful of the imperative of securing the process, especially the lives of registrants and our personnel. We will not put the lives of Nigerians and our registration officials at risk. For this reason, this meeting will review the security situation with a view to achieving our ultimate goal of activating 2,673 registration centres nationwide,” the INEC boss said.
First published 20-01-22|18:43
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Tags: INEC Mahmood Yakubu
