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As Commission begins post-review of 2023 polls in Abuja
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Plans more engagements with internal, external stakeholders
By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has declared that the success of any election in the country, primarily, depends on the ability to deploy personnel and materials to various locations.
The Chairman of the Commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu made the declaration on Wednesday in his remarks at the post-election review meeting with electoral officers held at the Abuja Continental hotel in Abuja.
This deployment of the personnel and materials to the various locations in the country, Yakubu said, has been a perennial challenge over time, stressing that it is now compounded by issues of infrastructure and insecurity.
He stressed however that the Commission has to deploy personnel and materials not only for Election Day activities but electoral activities in general covering the period before, during and after the elections.
Many of these activities such as the Continuous Registration of Voters (CVR), monitoring of party primaries for the nomination of candidates for the election and the procurement and deployment of sensitive and non-sensitive materials, the INEC Chairman pointed out, must be accomplished ahead of the election otherwise critical Election Day processes will be impossible.
His words, “There is no doubt that the success of any election primarily depends on the ability to deploy personnel and materials to various locations. In Nigeria, this involves the biggest logistic deployment the nation periodically undertakes across vast terrains and often difficult topography. “This has been a perennial challenge over time, but it is now compounded by issues of infrastructure and insecurity. “However, the Commission has to deploy personnel and materials not only for Election Day activities but electoral activities in general covering the period before, during and after the elections. “Many of these activities such as the Continuous Registration of Voters (CVR), monitoring of party primaries for the nomination of candidates for the election and the procurement and deployment of sensitive and non-sensitive materials must be accomplished ahead of the election otherwise critical Election Day processes will be impossible.
“This meeting therefore provides an opportunity to interact on a wide range of themes in which ten critical areas are highlighted for discussion”, he said.
Prof Yakubu however assured that in line with the Commission’s policy, when the review engagements are completed, a comprehensive report will be prepared.
He urged participants at the review meeting to lend their wealth of experience to the discussions in order to identify areas of strengths and weaknesses for immediate improvement in forthcoming elections, especially the three off-cycle Governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi States scheduled to hold on Saturday 11th November 2023.
Continuing, the INEC Chairman said, “I want to assure Nigerians that in the next two weeks, the Commission plans to hold more engagements with internal and external stakeholders, including political parties, civil society organisations, the media and security agencies”.
