By Harry Awurumibe Editor, Abuja Bureau
The Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu has categorically told Nigerian security agencies that without a secure and peaceful environment, the conduct of credible elections in the country is imperilled.
This is even as he has reminded the security agencies that their main responsibility on election days is primarily to secure the environment to enable the Commission
deploy personnel and materials while they also see to the protection of observers, the media as well as the polling and collation agents representing the political parties and candidates during the exercise.
Yakubu stated this in his opening remarks at a meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) held at the Conference Room, INEC Headquarters, Abuja on Tuesday, ahead of the February 3, 2024 re-run and bye-elections across the country.
The INEC Chairman also decried the frequency of holding elections in Nigeria without its attendant problems for the Commission and security agencies because of the manpower and logistics needed to prosecute the task.
Speaking to the top brass of the nation’s security agencies including the representative of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu who is a Co-Chairman of ICCES; Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Kayode Egbetokun and representatives of the Service Chiefs, Heads of various Intelligence, Security and Law Enforcement Agencies, Yakubu said INEC depends on the security agencies to conduct a free, fair and credible elections in the February 3 re-run and bye-elections in the country.
Said he: ” On behalf of myself and Co-Chairman, I warmly welcome you all. Being our first meeting of the year, it is appropriate to wish you a happy New Year as we prepare for elections holding next weekend. You may recall that exactly three months ago on 23rd October 2023, we had a similar meeting hosted by the National Security Adviser (NSA) on the eve of the last three off-cycle Governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi States held on 11th November 2023.
“Today, we shall focus our attention on yet another round of elections holding next weekend i.e. Saturday 3rd February 2024.
“There are two categories of elections. First are the bye-elections arising from the death or resignation of members of the National and State legislative houses affecting two Senatorial Districts, four Federal and three State Assembly Constituencies.
“The second category is the re-run elections by order of Election Petition Appeal Tribunals. In my remarks at the Commission’s extraordinary meeting with leaders of political parties last month, I reported that the elections affect 35 National and State Constituencies. Since then, four additional orders of the Court of Appeal have been served on the Commission in respect of Yabo/Shagari Federal Constituency of Sokoto State; Madara/Chinade State Constituency of Bauchi State as well as Kudan and Kauru/Chawai State Constituencies of Kaduna State.
“This brings the total number of affected constituencies to 39 which translates to 2.6% of the 1,491 Constituencies for which elections were conducted nationwide in the 2023 General Election”.
Speaking further, Yakubu said: “the nine bye-elections are fresh elections covering the entire constituencies. However, with the exception of three Constituencies (Plateau North Senatorial District and Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency in Plateau State and Kachia
/Kagarko Federal Constituency in Kaduna State), the re-run elections are to be held in a few Polling Units. In some cases, only one Polling Unit is affected in an entire Federal or State Constituency.
“Your task as members of ICCES is to ensure security for the elections. For this reason, the Commission has already provided to the Nigeria Police Force, as the lead agency in election security, the full information of the locations where the elections will be held broken down by States, Local Government Areas, Registration Areas/Wards and Polling Units. We have similarly provided the number of registered voters and Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) collected in each Polling Unit”.
The INEC boss however said that the same information will be shared at the Tuesday meeting with other members of ICCES, adding that the updated information will be also be uploaded to the Commission’s website and social media platforms for public information immediately after the meeting.
“As you are all aware, election is a multi-stakeholder responsibility. INEC has a role to play. So too are other stakeholders. As security agencies, it is your responsibility to secure the environment to enable us deploy personnel and materials, the protection of observers, the media as well as the polling and collation agents representing the political parties and candidates.
“Without a secure and peaceful environment, the conduct of credible elections is imperilled.
“From experience, the conduct of isolated elections such as bye-elections and re-run elections can be very challenging. We must pay attention to the potentials for disruptive behaviour by some candidates and their supporters.
“A re-run election conducted in one Polling Unit or a handful of Polling Units can be severely disrupted by acts of thuggery knowing full well that these few locations will determine the outcome of the election.
“Arising from the reports we received from the States, concerns have been raised about the impact of the prevailing insecurity in some States on the conduct of the elections, made worse by incendiary statements by some political actors. READ ALSO:
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“We will present such concerns and reports at this meeting for appropriate security response.
“What many people do not realize is that there is no election season in Nigeria any longer. Elections are held throughout the year between one general election and another. This adds to the enormous pressure on both INEC and the security agencies.
“For instance, in addition to the bye-elections and re-run elections holding next week, the Commission has also released the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the two off-cycle Governorship elections in Edo State scheduled for 21st September 2024 and Ondo State holding on 16th November 2024.
” As required by the Electoral Act 2022, party primaries and nomination of candidates shall be done not later than 180 days before the date fixed for the elections. Accordingly, party primaries for Edo State will commence next week and end three weeks later (i.e. 1st- 24th February 2024). For Ondo State, primaries will be held between 6th and 27th April 2024. Our collective experience as election managers and security agencies shows that party primaries can sometimes be more acrimonious than general elections. Therefore, as we prepare for the bye-elections and re-run elections, we should equally be prepared for the two major elections later in this year in Edo and Ondo States”, he concluded.
Meanwhile, the NSA representative by the Director of Internal Security in the Office of NSA promised INEC of adequate security during the exercise while IGP Egbetokun promised hard times for trouble-makers and election riggers.
