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Tag: Adekunle Ogunmola

  • 2019: INEC assures PWDs of full participation

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has pledged to enhance greater participation of persons living with disabilities in the 2019 general elections.

    Dr Adekunle Ogunmola, the INEC’s National Commissioner in charge of Outreach and Partnership Committee made the pledge on Monday in Lokoja at the opening of a two-day strategic meeting on Access and Participation of Persons with Disabilities in 2019 general elections.

     

    He said that the commission was desirous of deepening the democratic process in Nigeria, saying that part of the strategies was to ensure the participation of the marginalized and the disadvantaged groups across the country.

    Ogunmola, who was represented by the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Kogi, Prof. James Akpam said that the INEC had introduced some innovations to reduce all forms of barriers experienced by people living with disabilities in all aspects of electoral process.

     

    “It has also provided assistive and materials such as magnifying glasses at the polling units during elections, transcriptions of voter education materials to Braille and others to ensure their full and effective participation in the electoral process,” he said.

    Ogunmola explained that more interventions were needed as the 2019 general elections drew near, hence the strategic meeting on improving electoral access for persons with disabilities.

    According to him, the strategic meeting is to facilitate discussions and sharing of information on existing and new plans towards better outcomes for people living with disabilities in the 2019 elections.

    Read Also: 2019: We’re monitoring campaign closely, says INEC

    “It is expected that the strategies developed at this meeting will enrich and complement efforts of the commission in improving the Electoral process,” he said.

     

    In her remarks, the INEC Deputy Director in charge of civil Organisation, Mrs Dorothy Bello said that the meeting was organized to examine the role people living with disabilities in the forthcoming elections.

    Mr Simon Fanto, the Project Manager of the International Foundation for Electoral System ( IFES) , said that the Organisation decided to partner with the INEC to organize the meeting as part of its global objective of enduring inclusiveness in electoral process.

     

    Mrs Ekaete Umoh, the National President of the Joint National Association of Persons Living with Disabilities ( JONAPWD) commended the INEC for the measures taken so far to ensure full participation of her members in electoral process but stressed the need for more action.

     

    Participants at the meeting include members of the Joint National Association of Persons Living with Disabilities, organizations of persons living with disabilities and persons with disabilities desk officers of the commission.

    NAN

  • Why Nigerians should participate actively in electoral process — INEC

    Dr Adekunle Ogunmola, National Commissioner, Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ), on Wednesday said Nigerians should be more active in the nation’s electoral process as it affected them directly or indirectly.

    Ogunmola told News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos that such effective participation was critical to democratic development.

    According to him, elections are vital in every democracy because the citizens have the franchise to elect leaders or representatives of their choice.

    He also said that citizens were also empowered not to re-elect representatives who did not perform to expectation on assuming elective posts.

    “’I want to advise that Nigerians should take the issue of electing people into office seriously because it will impact on them directly or indirectly.

    “’When you have representatives that you have chosen via votes of the larger majority of Nigerians in the various constituencies, it means that such representatives have a responsibility of taking care of the people within their constituency.

    “These elected officials represent them fully in the various offices they occupy, either at the national or state houses of assembly or whichever office.

    “They have a responsibility to the constituents of their various constituencies by pushing forward their needs and yearnings.

    “’So, I feel that Nigerians should be more alive and active in the issues of election,” he said.
    The commissioner said that voting should be made a compulsory exercise or a criterion for one thing or the other as obtained in some other countries.

    “In some countries like Argentina, they make voting a compulsory affair.

    “Even if you are not going to vote for one reason or the other, you must notify the electoral body several weeks before the election date, and they have a way of knowing whether you have voted or not.

    “In Nigeria, we can get to that level too. I’m sure that by the time we make voting a criterion for one thing or the other in this country, people will get more involved in the electoral process,” he said.

    On voter apathy, Ogunmola said that the commission had increased its collaboration with political parties.

    Read Also:INEC extends date of PVCs collection

    “The parties are the ones in need of the votes of the people and should do more than what they are doing right now in the areas of enlightenment and canvassing for votes.

    “This will enable more people to come out to exercise their civic responsibility,” he said.

    On 2019 general elections, the commissioner said that preparations were in top gear to ensure it was credible..

    “I want to assure you that come 2019, we will be able to give Nigerians a very good election,” he said.

  • 2019: EU trains INEC staff on gender mainstreaming

    As part of preparations for the country’s 2019 general elections, the European Centre for Electoral Support ( ECES ), on Monday in Lagos, commenced training of electoral officers on gender mainstreaming.

    The one-week training with the theme: “BRIDGE Training on Gender and Election in Nigeria,” is directed at desk officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ).

    The News men reports that “BRIDGE” stands for Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections.

    Mr David Le Notre, the Project Director of ECES, said that the training was designed to encourage more Nigerian women to take active part in the electoral process.

    “Records show that women demography makes up the largest chunk of voters’ population, but the women in Nigeria constitute only 5.8 per cent of the political space.

    “In 2015, only six women were appointed into the cabinet while there were seven female senators and six female deputy governors.

    “Also in 2015, only one female contested for the presidency while four contested for vice presidency, one for governorship and five for deputy governorship.

    “These are indicative of low participation of women in electoral processes and government,” he said.

    Le Notre said the training workshop would familiarize INEC desk officers with the concept of gender and its importance in election.

    “I hope this workshop avails participants the requisite knowledge for effective gender mainstreaming in the Nigerian political space,” he added.

    Read Also: INEC uncovers illegal registration centre in Kwara

    Dr Adekunle Ogunmola, INEC’s Chairman of Outreach and Partnership Committee, said that the workshop was one of the ways INEC adopted to build the capacity of its staff.

    Ogunmola who is also a National Commissioner in INEC, said that the commission was committed to building an all-inclusive democracy.

    “This course is aimed at equipping our desk officers with the capacity to carry out their duties of gender mainstreaming in the electoral process.

    “It is one of the many ways the commission has adopted to build capacity of its staff.

    “The commission is committed to building an inclusive democracy where equality and equity are guaranteed,” he said.

    His address was delivered by Mr Mutiu Agboke, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Oyo State.

    NAN

  • INEC Directors adopt draft framework on Persons Living With Disabilities

    INEC Directors adopt draft framework on Persons Living With Disabilities

    The Directors of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have adopted a draft Framework on Access and Participation of Persons Living with Disabilities (PLWDs) ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    This was disclosed in a statement issued by INEC Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mr Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, on Wednesday in Abuja.

    Osaze-Uzzi said that the adoption was made at a workshop organised by the commission to review and adopt a ‘Framework on Access and Participation of PLWDs’ in Keffi, Nassarawa State, ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    He quoted Prince Adedeji Soyebi, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, while appraising the document before its adoption, as saying that the document was good enough right from the initial stage.

    Soyebi said that INEC was committed to promoting the participation of all social groups in the electoral process.

    He added that the document would be presented to other critical stakeholders for further scrutiny before its final adoption.

    Osaze-Uzzi also quoted Dr Adekunle Ogunmola, INEC National Commissioner, while declaring open the workshop as restating the commission’s commitment toward mainstreaming the PLWDs in electoral process.

    Ogunmola said:“the Commission aims to ensure that disability issues are mainstreamed into electoral matters.

    “This is against the backdrop of the fact that the 2011 World Health Organisation’s report on disability estimated that 15 per cent of the world’s population has one disability or the other, and 80 per cent with disabilities live in the global south.’’

    Ogunmola also cited the statistics of PLWDs in Nigeria which he said stood at well over 25 million men, women and children, of various age groups.

    Speaking on the experience of INEC at the development of a durable and acceptable PLWDs Framework, Ogunmola said time, knowledge, expertise and consultation were necessary.

    He said that the “the first input to the draft came up based on consultation with PWDs groups”.

    He added that nationwide consultations had taken place with principal external stakeholders in which an acceptable template was developed.

    Ogunmola further said the content and direction of INEC PLWD Framework was guided by the national and international instruments on PLWDs issues.

    These, according to him, include the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (1948); International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1956).

    He also listed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) among other things; as well as the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).

  • CVR: INEC flags-off registration in 25 additional centres in Lagos

    CVR: INEC flags-off registration in 25 additional centres in Lagos

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Lagos State on Monday flagged-off operations in the 25 additional centres approved for Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) in the state.

    Flagging off the operations, Dr Adekunle Ogunmola, the National Commissioner of INEC in charge of Ogun, Ondo and Lagos State, said the creation of more centres showed that the commission was responsive.

    He said that the additional centres were put in place in response to the request of stakeholders for decentralisation of the CVR.

    Ogunmola, who inspected three of the centres at Oke-Meta Primary School in Somolu, Ijero Girls’ Junior High School, Lagos Mainland and Akanji Primary School, Surulere, expressed satisfaction with the facilities put in place.

    “We are trying to ascertain the level of our preparedness in our newly created centres in Lagos. In Lagos state, we have been given 25 additional centres.

    “We want to know whether people are sensitised enough and we saw that people have started registering at the new centres already,” the INEC boss said.

    Ogunmola said that the new centres would go a long way to capture many eligible voters before the 2019 general elections.

    “Eligible voters should come out and register to be able to fulfil their civic responsibility. The exercise is a continuous thing, unlike the previous one that would run for few weeks and end.

    “This exercise will run until third quarter of 2018. People have about one and half years to register,” he said.

    According to him, the commission will do everything humanly possible to deliver on its mandate to Nigerians without letting the nation down.

    Also speaking, Dr Mustapha Mudashiru, the Administrative Secretary of the commission in the state, said that INEC would not renege on its commitment to serve the people.

    Mudashiru urged eligible voters to patronise the new centres for registration, adding that the commission would not spare any effort at simplifying the exercise for voters.

    He noted that no fewer than 165 staff members had been trained to man the new centres with adequate facilities to carry out the exercise.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the new centres are spread across 13 out of 20 Local Government areas of the state with high population of eligible voters.

    The centres were created in Ajeromi-Ifelodun, Alimosho, Eti-Osa, Ifako-Ijaiye, Ikeja, Ikorodu, Kosofe, Mushin, Ojo, Oshodi-Isolo, Somolu, Surulere, and Lagos Mainland Local Government Areas.

    INEC started the nationwide CVR on April 27 to capture those who attained 18 years of age and others who did not register or those seeking replacement, transfer and others.

    The exercise had been limited to only INEC offices in the 20 local government areas of the state before the creation of the new centres.

  • ‘Anambra mistakes can’t undermine future polls’

    Lagos State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Prof. Adekunle Ogunmola has assured Nigerians that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would not repeat the mistakes it made in the last Anambra State governorship election in Ekiti and Osun states.

    Ogunmola gave the assurance at his Oyo home while hosting members of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Oyo State Council.

    He said the commission has identified the causes of the mistakes and believes they are not general problems that can undermine the credibility of future elections.

    Lamenting that the situation was blown out of proportion, he identified the non-payment of workers’ allowances and the omission of names on the voter register as the problems in Anambra, “which were not effectively managed and led to the crisis”.

    Ogunmola said the commission was reassessing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) it signed with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) with the aim of improving it. He said efforts were also on to update voter registers.

    Ogunmola said INEC was working on modalities to ensure that its officials do not compromise credibility and fairness in future elections.

    Referring to the Anambra poll as a blessing in disguise, he said if the issues in the election had not arisen, the commission would have gone to rest believing it was fully prepared for the 2015 general elections.

    Promising that the Osun and Ekiti governorship elections would not go the Anambra way, Ogunmola urged voters to cross-check their names as soon as the commission displays the voter list, so that corrections can be made, if need be, before the elections.

    Oyo NUJ Chairman Gbenga Opadotun, lauded the working relationship between INEC and the media, stressing that journalists would continue to play a crucial role in democracy, particularly by enlightening voters on their rights and responsibilities.