Ahead of 2023, INEC Seeks Robust Security in Election Management

Chuks Okocha

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has stressed the need for more robust election security management as it prepares for the 2023 general elections.

The National Commissioner and Chairman of the Board of The Electoral Institute, Prof. Abdullahi Zuru, said this in Keffi, Nasarawa State, yesterday, during the commencement of a three-day workshop on the ‘Integration of Election Security into the Curricular of Training Schools of Security Agencies.’

Zuru in his opening address said the Commission had been addressing security challenges in a more coordinated manner in recent elections.

He, however, said some of the security challenges the Commission had been addressing seem to be recurring in spite of the cascaded training given to security personnel on election duty.

He expressed optimism that the workshop would resolve the challenge by integrating election security into the curricular of training schools of security agencies who are members of the Interagency Consultative Committee on Election Security.

The Director General of The Electoral Institute, Dr. Sa’ad Umar Idris, in his welcome address described election security as vital to democratic consolidation and growth of the electoral process.

He said: ”Arising from the conduct of bye and rerun elections, in the aftermath of the 2019 General Elections, is the realisation that insecurity at elections can mar any election.

“There is, therefore, need for security awareness among all cadres of election officials and stakeholders for elections to be rid of security problems which may ultimately culminate in the cancellation of elections or postponement of the elections in areas where there is a breach of the peace or disorderliness just as poor security management opens the elections to a host of risks.

“The Commission, through The Electoral Institute (TEI), has institutionalised the development and implementation of a cascaded training of security personnel as a critical component of its training plan.”

Furthermore, he said reports on the conduct of security operatives during the general elections and stand-alone governorship elections had shown progressive and commendable improvement in their disposition to electoral training.

”It is believed that the efficiency and effectiveness of security operatives at these Elections owe a lot to the Electoral Security Training conducted by the TEI as reviewed by other critical stakeholders.

“In a bid to consolidate on these gains, there is the need to domicile Electoral Security Training courses in the Training Schools of various security agencies who are members of ICCES for security personnel to proactively mitigate against security lapses that may result to electoral violence.

“The number of untrained security personnel deployed for election duty may pose a threat to gains made so far in securing the electoral process as less than five per cent of security personnel are usually trained before an election due to funding and other logistic challenges,” he added.

Idris also said the workshop seeks to, ”achieve the development and infusion of courses on election security into the curricula of Training Departments/Institutes of various security agencies.”