Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Monday charged the Resident Electoral Commissioners to fashion out innovative ways to bring more credibility to the country’s electoral process.
This, is as Yakubu said the commission proposed 142 recommendations to improve electoral process in the country.
Yakubu made the disclosure at the opening of a two-day Induction Retreat for Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in Lagos.
He said: “I can tell you that the commission has made 142 recommendations on the improvement of electoral process in Nigeria.
“As soon as the report is ready, we will go public and engage with Nigerians on this reforms.
“The reforms are categorised, the majority are for implementation by administrative action by INEC, but some are to be implemented by security agencies.
“We have those that require amendment to the electoral legal frameworks by the National Assembly. Some are to be implemented by political parties and other stakeholders.
“Nigerians should be patient, as soon as we conclude the process very soon, we will share this report with Nigerians,” Yakubu said.
He pointed out that there is no election session any longer as the commission conduct elections round the clock.
He said that since the inauguration of the National and State Assembly in 2023, INEC had conducted nine by-elections and still had to conduct five by-elections before the 2027 general elections.
Stating that the FCT Area council elections would also be due in 2026, Yakubu said that there was no respite for the commission again.
“As we innovate, we reflect, we review and we also implement,” he said.
He also gave assurance on Edo election, saying that the flood disaster that hit the state recently affected over 4000 Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) machines at the commission’s office.
He however, said the commission had been able to recover no fewer than 3500 of the machines.
The INEC Chairman said the machines in the state would not be enough for the election and that the commission would call for additional support from neighbouring states.
On the retreat, the INEC Chairman said it was not just about induction of new appointees ,but an opportunity to review performance, reappraise process, discuss innovations and engage service providers.
He therefore charged the newly appointed Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC) to come up with innovative ways that will bring more credibility into the electoral process.
Yakubu also urged them to focus on how they can acquaint themselves more with the processes and procedures of the Commission.
“As new RECs, we should focus on how we can acquaint ourselves more with the processes and procedures of the Commission. For the veterans, we should leverage on our privileged field experience to contribute on how to mitigate recurring challenges in the areas of pre-election and post-election litigations, operational issues especially in the area of logistics, improvement on voter education processes, issues of strategic communication and combating fake news, misinformation and disinformation as well as inclusivity in the electoral process, voter registration, allotting voters to polling units, the role of technology from pre-election activities to Election Day processes, political party issues mainly arising from leadership crisis and the management of party primaries, the recruitment and training of election duty officials, election security and our own code of conduct. In a well organised retreat such as this one, there is always something new to learn.
“Upon reflection, there is also new experience to share with colleagues. However, always bear in mind that the cardinal objective is improved service delivery”.
He stressed that elections in Nigeria has turned out to become a frequent occurrence as a lot of electoral activities have been lined up before the general election of 2027.
“The reality of the work we do in INEC is that there is no election season in Nigeria at all. Elections are held all-year round in addition to numerous electoral activities such as voter registration.
He said, Even today’s retreat is holding against the background of forthcoming governorship elections in Edo State in the next 81 days and Ondo State in the 137 days. In addition, there are five pending bye-elections for Babura/Garki Federal Constituency of Jigawa State and four State constituencies: Khana II of Rivers State, Bagwai/Shanono of Kano State, Zaria Kewaye of Kaduna State and Ganye of Adamawa State.
He added that “These outstanding bye-elections bring the total of such elections to 14 since the inauguration of the national and state assemblies in June last year.
“Looking forward, there are four major elections before the next General Election in 2027. The Anambra State Governorship election next year will be followed in 2026 by the Ekiti and Osun State Governorship elections and, I must remind you in case you forget, the Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory.
He added, “as we think, reflect and innovate for credible elections, we are also instantly implementing the reforms and innovations that we can introduce by administrative action. Since election is a process governed by law, we also plan to intensify our engagement with the National Assembly for activities that require legal reform”.
The INEC boss also expressed the Commission’s deepest appreciation to the Development Associates Inc. (DAI) and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) for supporting the retreat in particular and many other activities of the Commission.
He assured DAI led by their Team Leader Mr. Rudolf Elbling and the IFES Country Director Seray Jay of the commitment of INEC to transparent and inclusive electoral process in Nigeria.
