Chairman of the Independent National Electrical Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu has educated the new Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) on the electoral Processes and procedures they must adhere to.
Speaking today, July 1, at a retreat for the new RECs in Lagos, Professor Mahmood told them to concentrate in contributing to mitigate recurring challenges in the areas of pre-election and post-election litigations, operational issues especially in the area of logistics.
He wanted them to ensure an improvement on voter education processes and on issues of strategic communication and combating fake news, misinformation and disinformation.
Professor Mahmood stressed the importance of what he called “inclusivity” in the electoral process, voter registration and allotting voters to polling units.
He wanted them to pay attention to the role of technology from pre-election activities to Election Day processes; political party issues, mainly arising from leadership crisis and the management of party primaries.
The recruitment and training of election duty officials, election security and the Commission’s code of conduct, he said, are also important.
INEC Boss said that there is always something new to learn in a well organised retreat like the one being held.
“Always bear in mind that the cardinal objective is improved service delivery.”
He said that retreat for INEC, is not just about induction of new appointees but also an opportunity to review performance, reappraise processes, discuss innovations, engage service providers, interface with lawmakers on critical areas of reform and explore new frontiers in continuous effort to improve organisational capacity for better service delivery.
“Today, we are holding another retreat to induct 10 new RECs: nine of them were sworn-in on 12th December 2023 and one of them on 30th January 2024. In a matter of weeks after the swearing-in, many of the of the new RECs were saddled with the task of conducting re-run elections in a few locations in some constituencies or bye-elections in entire constituencies.
“The reality of the work we do in INEC is that there is no election season in Nigeria at all. Elections are held all-year round in addition to numerous electoral activities such as voter registration. Even today’s retreat is holding against the background of forthcoming governorship elections in Edo State in the next 81 days and Ondo State in the 137 days. In addition, there are five pending bye-elections for Babura/Garki Federal Constituency of Jigawa State and four State constituencies: Khana II of Rivers State, Bagwai/Shanono of Kano State, Zaria Kewaye of Kaduna State and Ganye of Adamawa State. These outstanding bye-elections bring the total of such elections to 14 since the inauguration of the national and state assemblies in June last year.
“Looking forward, there are four major elections before the next General Election in 2027. The Anambra State Governorship election next year will be followed in 2026 by the Ekiti and Osun State Governorship elections and, I must remind you in case you forget, the Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Therefore, as we think, reflect and innovate for credible elections, we are also instantly implementing the reforms and innovations that we can introduce by administrative action. Since election is a process governed by law, we also plan to intensify our engagement with the National Assembly for activities that require legal reform.”
