David Lawani
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday reaffirmed that the security challenges across states in the country could jeopardise the conduct of the forthcoming general elections.

Chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, raised an alarm over the rising security situation across the country and its impact on the elections during the validation of election security training resources held in Abuja.

Yakubu, who was represented by the Chairman of the Board of Electoral Institute, Abdullahi Zuru, stated that “if the insecurity is not monitored and dealt with decisively, it could ultimately culminate in the cancellation and/or postponement of elections in sufficient constituencies to hinder declaration of election results and precipitate a constitutional crisis.

He, however, said the commission would not leave anything to chance in ensuring that intensive and extensive security is provided for election personnel, materials, and processes.

Yakubu said, “We all appreciate the fact that election security is vital to democratic consolidation through the provision of enabling environment for the conduct of free, fair, credible and inclusive elections and thus strengthening the electoral process.

“Consequently, in preparations for the 2023 general elections, the commission is not leaving anything to chance in ensuring that intensive and extensive security is provided for election personnel, materials, and processes.

“This is particularly significant to the commission given the current insecurity challenges in various parts of the country and the fact that the National Youth Service Corps members constitute the core of the polling unit election officials.

“This must not be allowed to happen and shall not be allowed to happen.

“Therefore, security personnel in particular and all election officials, in general, must be security conscious and alert to unusual activities in their environment and must be fully equipped to deal with any challenge at all times”.

The workshop was a follow-up to earlier workshops held last year in Nasarawa and Kano states, following attacks on INEC facilities by thugs and arsonists in recent times.

Zuru, a professor, said the security training was part of proactive measures to forestall security threats which he noted could lead to cancellation and (or) postponement of elections in constituencies.

He recalled that a similar workshop was conducted before the Osun and Ekiti governorship elections, which he noted, ensured “progressive and commendable” improvement in the security atmosphere and conduct of personnel during the elections.

Director-General of The Electoral Institute, Sa’ad Idris, said the election security training documents will play a very critical role in the effective training of security personnel in securing the electoral environment for free, fair, credible, and inclusive elections.

Documents to be validated at the workshop include the electoral security personnel training manual, the electoral security personnel facilitator’s guide, the electoral security handbook, and the basic security in election duty handbook.

In his goodwill message, the Country Director of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), Serah Jah, said managing security threats in the electioneering process was a tall order for INEC which has the responsibility together with security agencies of preventing, mitigating, and resolving electoral violence.

He said to effectively provide security during elections, security personnel needs adequate training on their roles and responding to polls.

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*INEC advises public to be weary of unknown final list publication

Meanwhile, INEC has advised the public to reject the rumour of a published final list of candidates saying it has done that before except in areas where courts specifically requested that those names should be substituted.

Debunking the rumour, National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, noted that there cannot be a final list 46 days before the general election after it has taken steps to ensure that the publication of the names was done correctly in compliance with the provision of the Electoral Act as amended.

Okoye said, “The attention of the Commission has been drawn to reports widely circulated by a section of the media today, Monday, January 9, 2023, that the final list of candidates was released on our website on Sunday, January 8, 2023.

“The Commission wishes to state categorically that no new publication of the final list of candidates was released as reported. The public should therefore discountenance the story.

“For the record, the final list of candidates for the 2023 general election was published at least 150 days before the day of the election in compliance with the provision of Section 32 (1) of the Electoral Act 2022.

“Accordingly, the final list for Presidential and National Assembly elections was published on 20th September 2022 while that of Governorship and State Assembly elections was published two weeks later on 4th October 2022. These are indicated as item 8 on the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2023 General Election released by the Commission on February 26, 2022.

“There cannot be a final list of candidates with just 46 days to the General Election except for names published as substitutions for candidates nominated earlier in compliance with Court Order. Moreover, some of the candidates that allegedly made the new “final” list are still in Court and the matter is therefore subjudice.

“Political parties, litigants and the public should be guided accordingly”, he stated.