Court Orders Delay Printing Of Sensitive Materials — INEC

Barely three weeks to the opening of ballots in the off-cycle governorship elections in Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo states, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday lamented that the spate of judgments and orders from courts is posing a challenge to the November 11 polls.

Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of INEC, stated his concerns during the commission’s Quarterly Consultative Meeting with political parties in Abuja. Yakubu expressed concern about recent court judgments and orders concerning the nomination, substitution, or disqualification of candidates after all the sensitive materials have been printed. He said, “The reprinting of the materials in compliance with court orders within a short period of time is not only expensive, but the management of the process is very challenging.

“Although the commission has already published the final list of candidates for the three states, four recent court orders have compelled us to review the list.

These changes have been reflected in the updated list of parties and candidates on our website.

“However, this decision is without prejudice to any pending appeal by the affected candidates or their political parties.” The INEC chairman also stated that not all the political parties have nominated agents for all the polling units and even the collation centres in the three states.

Yakubu said, “Political parties have uploaded the names of their polling and collation agents to the dedicated web portal. “As I informed Nigerians at the meeting with our resident electoral commissions last week, a total of 137,934 agents made up of 130,093 polling and 7,841 collation agents have already been uploaded to the portal. “However, not all the political parties have nominated agents for all the polling units and even the collation centres in the three states.

“In the next few days, the commission will publish the detailed distribution of agents uploaded by all political parties for public information. “I urge you to consider the submission of names of agents as important as the nomination of candidates for election.”

Yakubu also raised serious concerns over the spate of violence that is threatening the delivery of free and fair polls in the respective states, noting that all the parties and their candidates have a responsibility to call their supporters to order during the campaigns and procession.

While charging the political parties and Inter-Party Consultative Advisory Council and the security agencies to actively engage to mitigate the tension, Prof. Yakubu maintained that a free and fair poll can only be possible under a peaceful atmosphere because election is a process involving humans whose personal safety is important.

“As electioneering campaigns continue to intensify, the commission reiterates its concern about the spate of violence in the three states involving parties and candidates. I wish to remind you as party leaders that free and fair elections are only possible in an atmosphere of peace.

After all, election is a process involving human beings as voters, election officials, observers and the media whose safety is of paramount concern to us.

“While we will continue to work with the security agencies in this regard, political parties acting individually or collectively through the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) also have an obligation to impress on your members, candidates and supporters to maintain peace during the campaign rallies and procession. I urge you to also appeal to them to maintain the same disposition on election day and beyond”.

On the readiness of the INEC for the election, the chairman explained that following the mock accreditation carried out in the states, the commission’s state offices have concluded the readiness assessment of their facilities as well as the movement of critical facilities to INEC’s 56 local government offices across the three states.

In his remarks, the IPAC Chairman, Mr. Sani Yabagi, urged INEC to use the November governorship election to deal with the issue of confidence deficit among the citizenry.

Sani said that the 2023 general election presented Nigeria with numerous challenges and controversies, leading to enormous challenges in the electoral processes. “It is essential for INEC, as the custodian of our democracy, to address this issue comprehensively.

“To reaffirm citizens’ confidence, INEC must continue to demonstrate impartiality, transparency, and a commitment to conducting free, fair, and credible elections.

“This is not only a moral imperative but a necessary step towards preserving the integrity of our democratic system,” he said.

Yabagi said that the commission was doing its best in its preparations in spite of obvious encumbrances, adding that lot more needed to be done in ensuring that elections in the country were credible and also substantially comply with the provisions of the 2022 Electoral Act.

He also called on INEC to work diligently in persuading security agencies to play by the rules of engagement and resist the temptation of being used by desperate politicians.

“The involvement of security agencies in the electoral process, when it becomes unavoidable, must be based on professionalism, neutrality, and a commitment to the defence of our democracy, rather than partisan interests.

“The citizens must feel secure in their participation in the electoral process, knowing that their safety and security are assured.

“The present precarious state of insecurity in the country and in particular the three states where the off-cycle elections will be taking place poses a real threat to full participation of the citizens in the exercise,” he said.