The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) have resolved to make the security of the 2023 general elections and other off-season elections a top priority.
The INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu and National Security Adviser (NSA), Mohammed Babagana-Monguno stated this at the first quarterly meeting of Inter-Agency Consultative Committees on Elections Security (ICCES) in Abuja on Thursday.
Yakubu, who is the co-chairman of ICCES, noted that securing the nation under current circumstances is challenging enough, saying it is more so in an election year.
The chairman expressed confidence that the standard of professional conduct displayed by INEC officials and the security agencies in the Edo, Ondo and Anambra State governorship elections will be maintained in all forthcoming polls, including the 2023 general election.
He said: “Our responsibility is to protect the process to guarantee its integrity while leaving the outcome of the election for voters to determine. Beginning from this meeting, we shall focus mainly on the best way to secure the electoral process in the most professional manner.
“You may recall that at our meeting in June last year, we discussed the commencement of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise. After extensive deliberations, you advised that we should commence the physical registration exercise in our State and local government offices nationwide.
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“Thereafter, we shall review the security situation before devolving further in the effort to reach as many citizens in their communities as is practicable.”
Yakubu assured that INEC is looking forward to activating additional 1,862 centres nationwide to make it easier for citizens to exercise their right to register as voters in the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).
“The CVR exercise has now entered its Third Quarter. I want to assure Nigerians that we are aware of the constraints experienced by many citizens in reaching the 811 designated centres nationwide to register.
“Some of them are separated by a considerable distance from the places where citizens reside. At the same time, we are mindful of the imperative of securing the process, especially the lives of registrants and our personnel.
“We will not put the lives of Nigerians and our registration officials at risk. For this reason, this meeting will review the security situation with a view to achieving our ultimate goal of activating 2,673 registration centres nationwide,” he added.
On his part, the NSA and co-chairman of ICCES, represented by Sanusi Galadima reiterated President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to ensure a free, fair and credible general election in the 2023 election.
He said: “Although the Anambra governorship election was adjudged hitch-free it was not without some logistics and operational challenges.
Accordingly, this meeting is timely as it will enable members to brainstorm on how to address the identified challenges in a proactive manner.
“This is very important given the fact that the 2023 General Election is around the corner, as well as the FCT local government elections scheduled for February 12, 2022, and two off-cycle elections in Ekiti and Osun States as well as other bye-elections in the country.”
