Further destruction of materials may hinder general election, INEC warns
Tasks security agencies, traditional, community leaders on vigilance
THEIndependent National Electoral Commission ( INEC) Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu yesterday urged security agencies, traditional and community leaders and well meaning Nigerians to support the Commission to stop the attacks on its facilities.
He said this was necessary because there is a limit to the Commission’s ability to keep replacing wantonly destroyed materials with just 86 days to the general election.
Yakubu, who spoke at the induction retreat for resident electoral commissioners held in Lagos, organised by the United Nations Development Programme ( UNDP), assured Nigerians that the commission would recover from the attack and lost materials would be replaced.
INEC boss insisted that the ultimate solution is to arrest and prosecute suspected vandals and arsonists so they do not feel that bad behaviour is an acceptable conduct in the country.
He said: “In the last four months, five Local Government Area offices of the Commission were attacked by yet unknown persons. Buildings have been destroyed and materials lost in Udenu and Igboeze North Local Areas of Enugu State, Abeokuta South Local Government of Ogun State, Ede South Local Government Area of Osun State and, most recently, in Izzi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
“In these mindless attacks, a total of 1,993 ballot boxes, 399 voting cubicles, 22 electric power generators and thousands of uncollected PVCS were, among other materials, destroyed. These attacks must stop and the perpetrators apprehended and prosecuted.”
Speaking on the rumour that voters could vote without PVC on Election Day, Yakubu described such as “absolutely incorrect”, saying, “For any person to vote, he or she must be a registered voter, issued with the PVC.
“This is absolutely incorrect. For any person to vote in any election organised by the Commission, he or she must be a registered voter issued with PVC. The
Commission has consistently maintained the policy of “no PVC, no voting”. Nothing has changed. It is a legal requirement and doing otherwise will be a violation of the law.
“I appeal to Nigerians to ignore any suggestion to the contrary. For the avoidance of doubt, Section 47( 1) of the Electoral Act 2022 provides that “a person intending to vote in an election shall present himself with his voter’s card to a Presiding Officer for accreditation at the Polling Unit in the constituency in which his name is registered”. Therefore, the position of the law is clear. The PVC remains a mandatory requirement for voting during elections.”
On the retreat, Yakubu said that it was part of the preparation for the 2023 general elections.
“Let me therefore reiterate what I recently told you at your swearing- in as Resident Electoral Commissioners. Our success ultimately depends on our integrity. We should remain independent and impartial.
“As I said on many occasions, the Commission is not a political party. It has no candidates in the forthcoming election. All political parties have equal standing before the Commission. The choice belongs to the electorate. Our responsibility is to uphold the sanctity of the ballot - nothing more, nothing less.”
In his goodwill message, Deryck Fritz, the Chief Technical Advisor, UNDP, urged the RECS to effectively implement the policies of the commission and be proactive frontline problemsolvers.
“It is you that must oversee the prudent management of the technical, material, financial and human resources entrusted to you. It is you that must engage impartially with the political actors.
“It is you that must foster the critical local relationships and partnerships with civil society organisations, with the state administration, with the transport unions, with other service providers, and with the police and other security services.
“In this period of the World Cup, we are reminded that successful elections, like successful football matches, are a result of cooperation and teamwork,” Fritz said.
According to him, for many, the recent trajectory of improved electoral management is viewed as irreversible, but as is the case in any election, opposing forces persist, such as marketplace politics and security challenges.
He said that these challenges would test the robustness of the INEC processes and procedures, and the commitment of its staff.
He said that democracy, in many parts of the world, was under threat, adding that only with strong institutions would such threats be resisted and repelled.
“And where questions arise regarding the conduct of the process, or allegations of electoral mismanagement or even fraud, it is critical that trusted and competent mechanisms exist to address these concerns, as an important alternative to electoral violence and political instability.
“INEC as the constitutionally mandated body, must be and also be seen to be the impartial and neutral arbiter of the electoral contest,” he said.