Despite the country’s raging waves of insecurity and the murder of one of its staff on voter registration duty last week in Imo State, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has pledged to continue with its preparations for next year’s General Elections, declaring that the exercise must take place.
Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), revealed this yesterday in Abuja at the official presentation of the INEC Strategic Plan 2022-2026 and the INEC Election Project Plan for the 2023 General Election.
According to the National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno, retd., the election umpire said as President Muhammadu Buhari expressed sadness over the country’s continuous insecurity, which the country’s security agencies have been unable to end.
The President, dissatisfied that his prior commands to the military to remove instability in the country had shown few results, commanded all operational and intelligence agencies to rescue all terrorist-kidnapped citizens, including those aboard the Abuja-Kaduna bound train, without harm.
The NSA told State House media following a three-and-a-half-hour meeting of the National Security Council at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, that Buhari cannot be satisfied when people are killed on a daily basis.
according to reports from https://www.vanguardngr.com/
INEC said there would be no reruns of the 2023 elections.
The INEC chairman stated that the Strategic Plan 2022-2026 and the 2023 Election Project Plan incorporated lessons from the previous plans and extensively examined their implementation.
“They build on the previous plans’ successes, particularly in terms of organizing and conducting the 2019 General Election, as well as off-cycle and bye-elections. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact and the country’s current security situation, both plans had to prioritize the institutionalization of the Commission’s processes for the effective delivery of its mandate by focusing on capacity-building, promotion of professionalism, encouraging greater synergy among departments, improving efficient resource utilization, increased deployment of technology, and increased sensitivity to threats to the country’s security.
“We are also aware of the security challenges and their impact on the electoral process. We will continue to engage early and intensely with the security agencies to ensure the safety of our personnel and materials, accredited observers and the media and, above all, the voters. Clearly, these are challenging times but we are determined that the election must hold in 2023.
“However, this is a shared responsibility. INEC plays a critical role but the Commission alone cannot deliver the elections we all desire. I, therefore, appeal to all Nigerians to join hands with us in ensuring that we make a success of the process,” Yakubu pleaded.
He stated that the Commission will complete the amendment of the Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections by next week in order to meet with the Electoral Act 2022’s stipulations.
“Work has also commenced on the review of the manuals for the training of election duty personnel. With the planning processes virtually completed, the Commission will now focus its attention on election technology and election administration.”
