Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has informed the public that the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has submitted a list of 427 lawyers across the country who have made themselves available to render pro bono (free) services to the Commission.
According to him, “the Nigeria Police has concluded its investigation of the conduct of our Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Adamawa State and submitted the case file to us. Appropriate action will be taken in a matter of days, and Nigerians will be fully informed.”
The INEC chairman Yakubu said yesterday at a meeting with the RECs held in Abuja, where he stressed that the electoral umpire has been working with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to prosecute the alleged offenders.
He affirmed that INEC had received 215 case files from the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), following their arrest and the conclusion of an investigation into electoral offences arising from the 2023 general election.
Yakubu, however, noted that the commission admits that there were also some challenges, which were structural, infrastructural and human in nature. “Indeed, it is in furtherance of the commission’s determination to address the challenges as they prepare for future elections that the commission is commencing its post-election review engagements today.
“We are most grateful to the NBA and its president, Yakubu Maikyau, SAN, for this historic collaboration. Similarly, we are working with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) on the prosecution of cases relating to vote-buying and associated violations.”
The INEC chair added, “In the next few weeks, several internal debriefing meetings will be held, culminating in engagements with stakeholders. I implore the Resident Electoral Commissioners, as senior officials of the commission, to lead the discussion on all aspects of the election from preparation, conduct and the aftermath frankly and constructively. Among other issues, I expect you to cover such specific areas as:
“Operational processes for the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) and general elections, including planning, organisation, coordination and evaluation of activities, focusing particularly on such specific issues as the issuance of voter cards, logistics, delivery of materials, deployment of personnel, etc.;
“Legal framework for the conduct of elections with a view to addressing any key legal challenges that may have arisen prior to the 2023 General Election which was not envisaged before the election;
“Technologies deployed in the electoral process, including the INEC Voter Enrolment Device (IVED); INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV); Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS); party nomination portal; observer, media and polling/collation agents’ accreditation portals etc., focusing particularly on their performance;
“Effectiveness of overall administrative procedures and channels within the commission in the coordination and execution of pre-election, election and post-election activities;
“Political party registration, party primaries and nomination of candidates for the 2023 General Election, as well as monitoring of the processes;
“Process of recruitment, training, deployment and performance of all categories of ad-hoc staff during CVR and the General Election; and
“Strengthening the Commission’s cooperation and relations with other bodies such as MDAs, NGOs etc. and any other issues in the electoral process that are likely to impact the work of the Commission in the future,” he said.
Yakubu also stressed that, in line with policy, at the end of the internal review and engagement with stakeholders, a comprehensive report would be published by the commission. “Furthermore, the commission has so far received reports from 54 accredited national and international observers,” he said.
He added, “We will give equal prominence to all the reports and review them in a holistic manner to ensure that necessary lessons are learnt from their conclusions and recommendations. As a Commission, we hope to continue to count on the support of stakeholders to improve the electoral process in Nigeria.
“Our work in INEC is enormous. As Resident Electoral Commissioners, you are no doubt aware that there is no election season in Nigeria any longer. Numerous off-cycle and bye-elections are held throughout the period between one general election and another.
“Even as we commence our review of the conduct of the 2023 General Election and barely a few weeks after the inauguration of the National and State Houses of Assembly, we are already confronted with four bye-elections as a result of resignation in the case of Surulere 1 Federal Constituency of Lagos State and death in respect of Jalingo/Yorro/Zing Federal Constituency of Taraba State, Chibok State Constituency of Borno State and Chikun State Constituency of Kaduna State.”
Professor Yakubu disclosed further that, the Commission has four for three off-cycle Governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi States, which are scheduled for 11th November 2023. We have already published the final list of candidates for the elections and the campaign in public officially commenced on 14th June 2023.
He said the commission will soon commence the regular stakeholder engagements ahead of the elections.
