Tag: Mahmood

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu on Monday, June 10, warned that the commission would not tolerate unethical and current practices from electoral officers, saying those engaged in such acts will be made to face the full weight of the law.

He spoke through the chairman of the Board of The Electoral Institute, Prof. Abdullahi Abdu Zuru, at the annual lecture organized by the Electoral Institute TEI, with the theme: “Achieving Professionalism among Election Personnel through Effective Training in Preparation for Edo and Ondo off-cycle Governorship Elections”

According to the INEC boss, the success of any election largely depends on the professionalism and competence of those responsible for conducting it, adding that it is important that personnel responsible for the conduct of these elections are knowledgeable, skilled, and well-equipped with relevant competencies to handle the complexities and challenges of the electoral process.

According to him, there is a need for a high sense of professionalism amongst Election personnel engendered by effective training because the crucial role election personnel play in upholding the integrity of the democratic processes, cannot be overstressed.

He stressed that how the Electoral Officers discharge their duties and responsibilities affects the degree of confidence voters will have in the electoral process, impacting their participation and turnout.

He said: “To ensure the credibility and trustworthiness in our elections and build trust among the electorates, we must prioritize the professional development of our election personnel.

“Consequently, the Commission has always demanded that all Election Officials should be punctual, courteous, polite, and helpful at all times. Voters are the masters and should be treated equally, decently, and with utmost respect.

“Unethical and corrupt practices by election officials will not be tolerated and shall incur severe punishments under the law. For these reasons, all Election officials should be guided by a high sense of Integrity; Impartiality; Transparency; Professionalism; Gender and Disability Sensitivity; and Due consideration and support for the elderly, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and Persons with Disabilities (PWDs).

Read Also: INEC extends CVR in Edo, Ondo by four days

“Effective and Efficient Electoral Training is the key to unlocking professionalism among election personnel. Hence, the Commission is unequivocal in its drive to equip its Staff cum Trainers with the knowledge, skills, and ethical standards required to excel in their roles by investing in comprehensive and interactive training programs as well as exploring possible collaboration with development partners to achieve best practices in electoral training.

“Through training, the Commission is able to deepen electoral knowledge and strengthen the skills and competencies of personnel over time, build a pool of professional and efficient trainers/facilitators that is responsive to the training needs of Commission staff and other electoral stakeholders.

“Develop a structured approach that engenders decentralized service delivery for effective training programmes, broaden the understanding of the role of Commission staff, enabling them to contribute meaningfully to the goal of achieving free, fair, credible, and inclusive elections.

“Explore the modalities of global best practices with regard to the engagement and training of electoral personnel in the most efficient and cost-effective manner, develop effective monitoring and evaluation processes that will enhance the assessment of training impact.”

In addition, he said the commission is able to evolve and adapt training to changes in technology and the electoral environment, adding that by achieving professionalism among Commission staff, the immediate low-hanging fruits will include public trust and confidence in the electoral process, accuracy, and reliability of election results, accountability and transparency and strengthening of democratic culture.

He stressed that achieving professionalism among election personnel is a critical step towards ensuring free, fair, credible, and inclusive elections, adding that the commission’s involvement in effective training programs, has empowered its staff to uphold the highest standards of integrity and professionalism, to strengthen our processes and procedures to serve the interests of all Nigerians.

The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, announced on Monday, June 3, that there are over 200,000 uncollected Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in Ondo state.

He urged those who wish to participate in the November 11 governorship elections to come and collect their PVCs.

The INEC chairman emphasised that since the commission has no candidate in the election, it is the responsibility of the people of the state to determine who becomes the next governor.

He added that they cannot do so without first collecting their voter cards.

Speaking at a meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Elections Security (ICCES) in Akure, expressed delight that the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), has been hitch-free and prayed for sustained peace throughout the exercise.

He called for sustained peace across the state, adding that elections can only take place in an atmosphere of peace.

The INEC chairman said he was in Ondo state to observe the ongoing CVR as well as observe the preparations being made for the November 24 governorship election in the state

He said: “There are two reasons why we are in Ondo state today. First is for us to observe the Continuous Voter Registration exercise the progress we are making and the challenges. Secondly, is to observe the preparation for the forthcoming governorship election.

“As you are aware, we have exactly 165 days before the governorship election, the election is holding on the 16th of November.

“Let me once again appreciate the members of ICCES. INEC does not only conduct elections, it also conducts electoral activities. The CVR is an electoral activity, and in November we will conduct the election.

“We can’t succeed in delivering electoral activities and the elections, unless the electoral environment is secured for us and until critical stakeholders a sensitised.

Read Also: Ondo 2024: INEC registers 20,000 new voters

“That is why in ICCES, you have not only the traditional security agencies, but we have the intelligence agencies, we have the law enforcement agencies, we have emergency services, and other members of ICCES such as the NYSC, the NOA and others.

“This is going to be the third governorship election conducted by the present Commission in Ondo state. I was here in 2016 for the same purpose, I was here in 2020 for the governorship election, and by God’s grace, we’ll be here again in November 2024 for yet another governorship election.

“I must say that the build-up to this governorship election has so far, been very peaceful, and we hope that working together with the security agencies, we will sustain the peace.

“I want to assure registered voters in Ondo state that they should continue to troop out in their numbers to register, and come out and collect their PVCs from the current registration, but we also have literarily over 200,000 uncollected PVCs from the last exercise.

“So, we encourage people to come and collect their PVCs so they can cast their votes for whoever they wish to vote for on Election Day.

“Before I conclude, let me say what I consistently continue to say INEC is not a political party, we don’t have a candidate in the Ondo governorship election. The choice of who becomes the next governor in Ondo state is entirely in the hands of voters, and we’ll protect their choices, and the integrity of the process”, the INEC chair pledged.

The co-chair of ICCES in Ondo state and the Commissioner of Police, Abayomi Oladipo applauded the seamless cooperation between the REC and the members of ICCES has been an advantage to us in the election security management.

“At the moment, we don’t seem to have challenges relating to elections. Apart from the crimes that are being committed and are localised to the various senatorial districts.

“On the side of the police, we realise that we cannot do it alone and that is why we have the support of every security agency and members of ICCES in the state, that we move together as a team and tackle budding election crisis.

“At the moment, we don’t have inter inter-party crisis, what we have is an internal crisis within the political parties, but as time goes on, we are equal to the task, and we assure you that on our own part, we will discharge our duties to ensure that the people, the staff of INEC and the materials are protected.

Ondo State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs Toyin Babalola, said all the registration centres for the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) had been adequately manned by security personnel and no negative report had been received so far since the commencement of the exercise.

Babalola said the commission had met with the security agencies three times in the last five months this year, pointing out that on 21st May 2024, they had met to review the security arrangement for the Continuous Voters Registration exercise.