Victor EzejaAmid the 2023 general election campaigns in Nigeria, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) warns political parties and their supporters to avoid aggression and attacks on opponents, especially during political rallies.
Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, gave the warning at a special training for ‘master trainers’ on deployment of election technology for the 2023 general elections in Abuja, on Tuesday, October 18, 2022.
Yakubu’s warning came on the heels of reports about recent clashes among supporters of political parties during campaigns.
Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar had raised the alarm about an alleged attack on his supporters at a rally in Kaduna on Monday. A similar attack was reported in Zamfara State recently.
Prime Business Africa reports that parties have also been involved in verbal crossfires mostly done by presidential campaign spokespersons and supporters in an attempt to score political points.
The INEC Chairman also condemned the reported act of denying parties and candidates (especially the opposition) access to public facilities in some states and warned political parties and their supporters to shun such actions. He added that denying political parties such rights not only violates certain sections of the Electoral Act (2021) but also negates the Peace Accord signed weeks ago to conduct peaceful campaigns.
“Let me caution parties and their supporters to focus on issues and steer clear of attacks on each other. These are not only violations of the Electoral Act 2022 but also negate the voluntary commitment by all political parties and candidates to the letter and spirit of the Peace Accord signed about three weeks ago under the auspices of the National Peace Committee (NPC),” Prof. Yakubu stated.
He warned political parties, candidates and their supporters to avoid acts that could further “complicate the prevailing security situation in the country,” adding that “A peaceful electioneering campaign is critical to the conduct of peaceful and credible elections.”
He also stated that the Commission would continue to monitor the situation closely and convene a meeting with leaders of political parties next week to discuss, among other issues, “the imperative of peaceful campaigns and equal access to public facilities.”
He also disclosed that the commission would meet with security agencies under the auspices of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) next week to ensure safety during electioneering campaigns.
The INEC Chairman declared that the deployment of technology in the electoral process like the use of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) have come to stay as means of voter accreditation and transmission of election results from polling units to INEC portals.
He observed that the innovations have increased transparency and public confidence in the electoral process, adding that they were also part of the legal requirements for conducting elections in Nigeria as stipulated in the the Electoral Act, hence the need for the training of INEC Staff on use of the technology for easy operation during the 2023 general elections.
“From the experience of recent off-cycle elections, the Commission is convinced that a critical success factor in the deployment of technology in elections is training.
“We need to build the capacity of the staff involved not only to competently handle the devices during the accreditation process but also respond effectively to any glitches that may occur during elections.
“Our plan for the 2023 General Election is to commence the training of election officials early and for a longer period of time for optimal understanding of the processes and procedures in order to serve Nigerians better. A key component of this effort is election technology,” he stated.
Yakubu said that a total of 82 officials were drawn from the commission’s offices nationwide for the training. The trainees would, thereafter, train more officials at zonal levels to cover all the 8,809 Registration Areas (or Wards). Those officials at the zonal level he added, would, in turn, be involved in the training of ad hoc staff for the 176,846 polling units nationwide.
The INEC boss urged the 82 staff involved in the training to pay special attention, adding that their “role as master trainers is critical to the success of training at subsequent levels and ultimately the successful deployment of the devices during elections.
“For this reason, the Commission will not accept laxity on your part. Much as we have confidence in your ability to understand and discharge your responsibilities to the officials you will subsequently train, there will be consequences for unethical behaviour or any act of misconduct,” Yakubu told the officials involved in the training.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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