The Inter Party Advisory Council, IPAC, has rejected the proposed bill by Nigerian Senate to create a Local Government Independent Electoral Commission, LGIEC, saying it would be another State Independent Electoral Commission, SIEC, in disguise.
Speaking at the Third Quarter Meeting of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, with Political Parties, on Monday in Abuja, the National Chairman of IPAC, Yusuf Dantalle, rather called for the amendment of the constitution and the Electoral Act to empower INEC to conduct all Local Government polls to restore confidence in the electoral process.
Dantalle also called for immediate scrapping of the State Independent Electoral Commissions, SIECs, to further deepen democracy at the grassroots level.
“It is unacceptable, ill-conceived, another electoral jamboree that will impede the nation’s democracy and waste public funds at a time when citizens demand a smaller government to reduce the cost of governance.
“The charade called elections they conduct is an aberration, dent and mockery of our emerging democracy; a waste of tax payers’ money that ought to have been channeled to developmental projects.
“SIECS do not have voter registers, BVAS, IReV portals, ballot boxes and trained personnel to conduct credible elections. The polls they pretend to conduct contribute to voters’ apathy and distrust in the electoral process,” he said.
The IPAC chairman reiterated INEC’s position that the commission has the capacity to conduct all Local Government elections as it did for FCT Area Councils generally adjudged to be free, fair and without rancour.
On the September 21, 2024 governorship election in Edo State, Dantalle stressed that there is no substitute for free, fair, credible, transparent, inclusive and peaceful poll.
“The success of this election along with Ondo’s will go a long way in restoring trust in the democratic process essential for enduring representative governance,” he said.
Earlier, the Chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmoud Yakubu, reiterated the commission’s preparedness for the conduct of election in Edo State, stating that with 53 days to the exercise, INEC has recovered from the torrential rainfall that resulted in the severe flooding of its state headquarters in Benin City two months ago.
According to Yakubu, the damage to the physical infrastructure has been fixed; vehicles have been repaired while other movable and immovable facilities have been serviced, refurbished or are being 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,” he said.
The INEC chairman further disclosed that as at Sunday 28th July 2024, 14 political parties had uploaded the details of 38,354 polling agents and 819 collation agents for the Edo State Governorship election.
He said the final register for the 2024 governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states are being finalised, adding that 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 before the week end.
“The Commission is aware that going by our Timetable and Schedule of Activities, the register of voters will be published not later than 30 days before the date fixed for the election,” he said.
Yakubu assured chairmen of political parties that each party fielding candidates in the forthcoming governorship election in Edo State will receive the softcopy of the register on 20th August 2024 while that of Ondo State will take place on 15th October 2024.
The INEC chairman called on party leaders to demonstrate compliance with the commission’s regulations and guidelines for political parties 2022, especially the aspect dealing with rallies, processions and campaigns already available on our website.
“The campaign period has often been characterised by acrimony and tension. Sadly, it is also a period of verbal abuse and physical confrontation among parties, candidates and their supporters.
“The Commission finds the recent event in Edo State resulting in the death of a security personnel worrisome. Happily, there has been no incident known to the Commission since then. Nevertheless, the Commission will meet with the security agencies under the auspices of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).
“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 own officials, observers, journalists, service providers and, above all, the voters,” he said.
