2019: Election Stakeholders Pass Vote of Confidence On INEC

Election stakeholders comprising of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Observer and monitoring groups under the aegis of the Election Roundtable Expert Group (EREG) has resolved to support the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in meeting its mandate and delivering a credible, free and fair elections in 2019.

This was contained in a communique m issued at the end of a one day round table on Thursday and made available to journalists yesterday, on the overview of elections in Nigeria post 2015.

The event was organised in Lagos by EREG with support from Independent service Delivery Monitoring Group (ISDMG) with the stakeholders passing a vote of confidence on INEC led by Professor Yakubu based on his performances so far and his zero tolerance to corruption.

The communique signed by ISDMG executive director, Dr. Chima Amadi; ISDMG director of mobilisation, Faith Nwadishi; Ezenwa Nwagu for Partners for electoral reforms, others top CSO leaders Ledum Mitee, Emeka Ononamadu, Abdul Mahmud, Oluajo Babatunde, Lanre Arogundade amongst other participants.

The stakeholders also lauded the courage exhibited by the current INEC Chairman and his commissioners in the discharge of his duties, citing the recent prosecution of corrupt staff of the Commission, saying such action has further restored more confidence on the preparedness of the Electoral Management Board led by Professor Yakubu in achieving a transparent poll.

The communique reads partly, "the participants support the stance of the current INEC Chairman, Professor Yakubu on corruption. This is highly commendable. His zero tolerance to corruption led to the suspension and prosecution of 202 INEC staff found complicit in electoral malpractices in addition to the collaboration with EFCC to mitigate corruption in the electoral process.