INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu
‘There’s no election season in Nigeria any longer’ – INEC chairman, seeks police cover
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says there is no election season any longer in Nigeria, even as it asked the Nigeria police and other security agencies to secure the electoral space and provide the enabling environment for it to deploy personnel and materials for the bye and rerun elections scheduled to be hold across the country, February 3, 2024.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu who made the call while addressing members of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) during a meeting held at the INEC Headquarters, Abuja, Tuesday, also gave an insight into activities of the commission for the two off-cycle Governorship elections in Edo State scheduled for September 21, and Ondo State holding on 16th November 16, 2024.
“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
“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 (that is, 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,” Yakubu stated.
Prof. Yakubu, who also chairs ICCES, while describing the conduct of an election as a multi-stakeholder responsibility, noted further that without a secure and peaceful environment, elections would be imperiled, as he called for security cover from the police.
“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 to deploy personnel and materials, the protection of observers, the media as well as the polling and collation agents representing the political parties and candidates,” Yakubu.
The INEC chief pointed out that from experience, the conduct of isolated elections such as bye-elections and re-run elections could be quite challenging, insisting that ‘we must pay attention to the potential 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. We will present such concerns and reports at this meeting for appropriate security response,” the INEC chairman added.
Remarking, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr. Kayode Egbetokun, assured that the police as the lead agency in election security, will provide security alongside other security agencies for the bye elections and off-cycle elections.
“We are aware of the challenges associated with isolated elections, and I want to assure Nigerians that we are on top of the situation. We have analyzed all 26 states where the election is going to take place and we are going to deploy according to the strength and threat assessment.
“We are also going to deploy adequately and massively for these elections, just like we did in the last off-season elections. I want to assure Nigerians that this election that is coming is going to be conducted hitch-free. We are going to ensure the safety of officials who are going to be deployed for the election, we are going to ensure the safety of the electorate who are going to come out on the day of the election, we will ensure the safety of materials for the elections,” the police chief said.
