From Harry Awurumibe, Lagos
Top Directors of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Director General of The Electoral Institute (TEI) have said in one voice that the Commission is determined to conduct free, fair, credible and inclusive elections next year.
Also, each of the INEC Directors who spoke at the just concluded Two-Day Capacity Building Workshop on the Commission’s Processes, Innovations, Preparations for the 2023 General Election and Critical Issues in the Electoral Act 2022 for Press Corps Members, insist that technology will play a big role in the conduct of the election.
In a paper titled: 2023 General Election: Imperatives of Adequate Training for Poll Officials, the Director General of The Electoral Institute (TEI), Sa’ad Umar Idris, Ph.D, posited that there will not be any credible elections without adequate training of personnel to conduct the elections.
He said the Institute in collaboration with INEC have been doing alot to ensure that the persons who drive the elections are trained properly to discharge their duties.
INEC Director of Litigation and Prosecution,
Tanimu Mohammed Inuwa, SAN, in his own paper titled: Litigation: Issues and Challenges Towards 2023 General Election, said that the 2022 Electoral Act has helped to deepen Nigerian democracy.
Explaining further, Inuwa said that election cases are governed by the Statues, pointing out that 2022 Electoral Act has made it possible that when you are out of time, you can’t get anything from the courts.
However, INEC Director of Legal Drafting and Clearance in her paper titled: Quest for Credible 2023 Polls: Reflections on the Electoral Act 2022, reeled out the key innovations in the Electoral Act 2022 which includes Early Release of Funds and Registration of Voters.
Others are Replacements of Cards, Conduct of Elections, Oath of Neutrality, Political Parties Primaries and Nomination of candidates among others.
Meanwhile, Barrister Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of Voter Education Committee has pleaded with the media to continue to partner with the Commission to deliver a free, fair and credible election in 2023.
In his Vote of Thanks, Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi commended members of the INEC Press Corps for standing with the Commission, pointing out that his efforts to ensure that INEC development partners like Development Alternatives Initiatives (DAI) and European Union (EU) SDGN bought into the idea of organising the workshop held at Radisson Blu, Ikeja, Lagos.
