April 22, (THEWILL) – The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that with the recent killing, attacks and kidnap of its personnel in various parts of the country, it is deeply concerned about the safety of those involved in the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).
The Commission said the safety of Nigerians who come out to register at the various registration centres, the Commission’s equipment and materials are also major concerns to the Commission.
INEC chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, expressed the concerns in his remarks at the second regular quarterly consultative meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners in Abuja on Friday.
He disclosed that the emergency high-level meeting with security agencies and consultations with relevant stakeholders are part of the arrangements planned to checkmate the situation from escalating further.
The INEC boss said, “We are concerned about the safety of our personnel and Nigerians, who come out to register at the various registration centres. We are also concerned about the security of our equipment and materials, including the printed Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) made available for collection by registered voters. Recent incidents involving our staff and facilities are worrisome.
“You may recall that after a series of consultations with stakeholders, (political parties, civil society organisations, the media and security agencies) before the resumption of the exercise in June last year, we agreed on a roll-out and roll-back approach to the CVR exercise, depending on the security situation in specific areas.
“Consequently, following the unfortunate incident in Imo State last week, the Commission suspended the CVR exercise in all the 54 additional centres in the State. The exercise is now restricted to our State and Local Government offices except Ihitte Uboma, Njaba and Osu, where the exercise has been suspended for the time being.
“Similarly, based on the urgency of the situation in Anambra State, the CVR has been suspended in all the 42 additional centres and confined to our State and Local Government offices except, Nnewi South and Ogbaru LGAs, where the exercise has also been temporarily suspended.
“Furthermore, in Kaduna State, the exercise has been suspended in Jema’a and Kaura, as well as large areas of Birnin Gwari and Giwa on account of insecurity in the four LGAs. In addition, two of our staff were abducted by bandits, but later released in Isa LGA of Sokoto State while on voter registration duty.”
Giving further updates, he said that: “The Commission will keep monitoring and reviewing the situation nationwide, always bearing in mind the imperative of protecting the safety and security of our staff and registrants.
“The Commission is confident that our security agencies have the capacity to deal with the security challenges ahead of the 2023 General Election. Fortunately, we have started the preparations for the election early. There is, therefore, ample time to deal with the current situation to enable the Commission and all stakeholders to deploy nationwide for the election.
“We will continue to work with the security agencies for a peaceful electioneering and conduct of elections. To this end, the Commission will hold high-level meetings with the security agencies and consultations with stakeholders immediately after the forthcoming national holidays.”
On the creation of additional centres to devolve the CVR exercise beyond INEC State and Local Government offices nationwide, Yakubu said that a total of 2,673 centres had been activated nationwide.
He disclosed that in the last one week of the exercise, 405,587 eligible Nigerians had completed the registration at the various centres.
This, according to him, represents about 31 percent increase on the average figure of 125,000 weekly registrations since the exercise commenced in June 2021.
Yakubu also said that while INEC expected a surge in new registrations as it approached its June 30 deadline, it was prepared for it.
Meanwhile, the Commission has directed all registered political parties to submit copies of their membership register to the commission, in compliance with the new Electoral Act 2022, before their primary elections.
Yakubu said that the new Electoral Act made it mandatory for political parties to submit their registered members to the commission 30 days before their primaries.
“Let me also seize this opportunity to remind political parties that by the provision of Section 77 of the Electoral Act 2022; each party is required to maintain a membership register in hard and soft copy and to make such register available to the Commission not later than 30 days before the date fixed for primaries, congresses and conventions.
“So far, only one political party has complied. It is a mandatory requirement of the law and all parties are required to comply.
“Doing otherwise is like going into an election without the register of voters. There can be no credible primary or general election without a credible register of voters”, Yakubu said.
The INEC chairman also advised the RECs to thoroughly study the new Electoral Act, saying a credible election is anchored on the law.
“As you are aware, the Electoral Act, together with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and our Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections, constitute the electoral legal framework for elections. As election managers, it is incumbent upon us to familiarise ourselves with the legal framework”, he said.
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