Igini: It’s Impossible to Rig 2023 Polls, Elections’ll Be Won or Lost at Polling Units

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

Former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Barrister Mike Igini, has advised those planning to rig the 2023 general election to bury the thought, because the elections would be won or lost at the polling units.

This is as he has applauded the current National Assembly for passing the new Electoral Act Amendments Bill, which President Muhammadu Buhari gave his assent to become the 2022 Electoral Act.

Igini, who recently retired as the Akwa Ibom State REC, spoke on television programme, which was monitored in Abuja yesterday.

According to him, the 2022 Electoral Act, has made polling units the “Center of the Universe”, pointing out that the new Electoral Act has given INEC unfettered powers to deploy technology in the conduct of the elections, the introduction of the Bimodal Voting Accreditation System (BVAS) and its sister (iREV) would make it highly impossible to rig the elections at the polling units level anymore.

“The 2022 Electoral Act, has made polling units the Center of the Universe. This means that elections will now be determined in the Polling Units. The era of fraudulent electoral officers, changing election results may have gone, because the results harvested in the polling units must be declared right there and results transmitted to the INEC elections viewing portal,” he said.

Igini posited that the use of Form EC8A, where the Presiding Officer would fill in the results into the form and transfer or transmit same to INEC, iREV has become a game changer as the results could no longer be manipulated at collation centers.

“In line with Section 60 of the 2022 Electoral Act, the POs must transmit and also physically take Form EC8A, where the results harvested in the Polling Units have been entered to the Collation Centers. Woe betide anyone, who will alter the results already transmitted to the INEC election results viewing portal,” Igini stated.

Igini, a chieftain of Civil Society Organisations (CSO), however, said that there were elements in Nigeria, who were not comfortable with the 2022 Electoral Act and were hell bent to sabotage it.

His words: “It has to be said that there are those who are not comfortable with the 2022 Electoral Act and are hell bent to sabotage it. In any system, there are those who want to sabotage it, the Electoral Act is not spared.”

Igini poured encomium on the current National Assembly members for working hard to pass the new Electoral Act Amendments Bill into law and President Buhari to assent to it to give Nigerians the 2022 Electoral Act, which has granted INEC more powers to give Nigerians free, fair and credible elections going forward.