Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, INEC Chairman; Image: Vanguard.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has expressed fears that the escalating wave of election-related violence across Nigeria could cause the 2023 elections to be postponed or canceled.
The commission also said that the rising incidence of insecurity could affect the declaration of election results and cause a constitutional crisis.
Speaking at the validation of election security training resources in Abuja on Monday, the Chairman of the Board of The Electoral Institute, TEI, which is in charge of training, Professor Abdullahi Abdu Zuru called for concerted efforts to curb the violence.
Professor Zuru said: “We all appreciate the fact that election security is vital to democratic consolidation through the provision of enabling environment for the conduct of free, fair, credible and inclusive elections and thus strengthening the electoral process.
“Consequently, in preparations for the 2023 general elections, the Commission is not leaving anything to chance in ensuring that intensive and extensive security is provided for election personnel, materials, and processes.
“This is particularly significant to the Commission given the current insecurity challenges in various parts of the country and the fact that the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, members constitute the core of the polling unit election officials.
Steps to avoid polls cancellation, and postponement.
Prof. Zuru further said, “Moreover, if the insecurity is not monitored and dealt with decisively, it could ultimately culminate in the cancellation and/or postponement of elections in sufficient constituencies to hinder the declaration of elections results and precipitate a constitutional crisis.
“This must not be allowed to happen and shall not be allowed to happen. Therefore, security personnel in particular, and all elected officials, in general, must be security-conscious and alert to unusual activities in their environment and must be
fully equipped to deal with any challenge at all times.
“To this end, the National Security Adviser, General Mohammed Babagana Monguno, and the Chairman, INEC have jointly assured the nation that a conducive environment will be provided for the successful conduct of the 2023 general election.
“Similarly, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Usman Baba Alkali, has conducted election security management workshops across the six geo-political zones.
“On its part, the Commission, through The Electoral Institute, has institutionalized the development and implementation of a cascaded training mechanism for security personnel as a critical component of its training plan.”
Uploading real-time polling unit results.
Prof. Zuru announced that continuous verification, accreditation, and voting will be done at the polling units using the Bimodal Verification and Accreditation System (BVAS).
Real-time results at the polling unit level will be uploaded on the INEC Results Viewing (IReV) Portal using the same BVAS, he said.
“These commitments require innovative security strategies and deployments for the protection of voters, election personnel, materials, equipment, the electoral processes as well as the general public and infrastructure.
“These innovative systems and processes minimize human errors and delays in results collation and improve the accuracy, transparency, and credibility of the results collation process thereby ensuring the credibility of the process.
“They were tested during the Ekiti and Osun Governorship elections, held on June 18, 2022, and July 16, 2022, respectively,” he added.
Earlier, the Director General of the Electoral Institute, Dr. Sa’ad Umar Idris, called for validation of Election Security Training Documents, saying that for security personnel to be trained to effectively secure the electoral environment and achieve free, fair, credible, and inclusive elections, the training documents are critical.
Country Director of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, IFES, Serah Jah, in his goodwill message urged INEC to be prepared to manage security threats in the electioneering process.
According to data released recently by INEC, there have been 50 attacks on its facilities across 15 states: Imo (11), Osun (7), Enugu (5), Akwa Ibom (5), Ebonyi (4), Cross River (4), and Abia (4), Anambra (2), Taraba (2), Kaduna (1), Borno (1), Bayelsa (1), Ondo (1), Lagos (1), and Ogun (1).
During his appearance recently before the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee investigating attacks on the INEC facilities, the Commission's chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, warned that the conduct of the 2023 elections could be affected if attacks on its offices continued.
Politics and Opinion.
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