…INEC Unveils Preparedness for Edo Governorship Election

National Chairman, of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Alhaji Yusuf Mamman Dantalle has advocated for an amendment of the Constitution and the Electoral Act to empower the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct all Local Government polls while rejecting the proposed bill by the Senate to create a new Local Government Independent Electoral Commission.

He also called for the establishment of the Electoral Offences Commission to prosecute electoral offenders and urged politicians across party lines to imbibe issue-based campaigns, participate in making the nation’s elections transparent, and accept the will of the people expressed in their votes.

Alhaji Dantalle, IPAC Chairman

He spoke at the third regular quarterly Consultative meeting between IPAC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). He X-rayed the current political situation in the country and said no sacrifice is too big for political leaders to pay in strengthening, deepening, and consolidating the nation’s democracy.

“Together, we will restore electoral trust and integrity, deepen our democracy, and make Nigeria great again” the IPAC Chairman stressed.

He said as a major stakeholder in the political process, IPAC is unwavering in its quest for electoral integrity, sanctity of the ballot box, and respect for the will and mandate of the people, political stability, and well-being of Nigerians.

Speaking on the Edo State governorship election, Alhaji Dantalle said: “the die is cast”, stressing that: “there is no substitute for a free, fair, credible, transparent, inclusive and peaceful poll. This election’s success and Ondo’s will restore trust in the democratic process essential for enduring representative governance”.

He said flawed elections that produced incompetent leaders are the remote cause of economic stagnation, political upheavals, and socio-religious disharmony in the polity as the imposed leaders seek personal interests instead of national interest.

Earlier in his welcome remarks, INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu said 53 days to the Edo State Governorship election scheduled for Saturday 21 September 2024, the Commission’s preparations are going on in earnest.

He said: “We have recovered from the torrential rainfall that resulted in the severe flooding of our State Headquarters in Benin City two months ago. The damage to the physical infrastructure has been fixed. Vehicles have been repaired while other movable and immovable facilities have been serviced, refurbished, or gradually replaced. We have delivered additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines to Edo State for the training of election duty personnel as well as contingency for Election Day support”.

Prof. Yakubu disclosed that following the conclusion of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), the display of the register for claims and objections by citizens, and further data clean-up using the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS), the Commission will publish the final figures of new voters in the two States as well as their distribution by gender, age, occupation and disability adding that the timetable for the collection of uncollected Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) from previous registration and new registrants from the latest CVR will be published not later than 30 days before the date fixed for the election.

He reminded the political party leaders to submit the list of their agents by uploading the required information, including photographs, to the dedicated portal adding that the deadline is 30 July 2024 when the portal automatically shuts down at midnight.

According to him: “As of Sunday 28 July 2024, 14 political parties have uploaded the details of 38,354 polling agents and 819 collation agents for the Edo State Governorship election. Three parties have yet to upload a single polling agent while five parties have not uploaded a single agent for Ward, Local Government, and State collation centers.

Prof. Yakubu said the Commission will meet with the security agencies under the auspices of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) to discuss security issues in Edo and Ondo states adding: “I want to assure you that security in Edo and Ondo will be a major issue for discussion at the meeting. We are as concerned about the safety of your candidates, agents, and supporters as we are about the security of our officials, observers, journalists, service providers, and, above all, the voters”.