INEC Urged to Use Kogi, Bayelsa Imo States Guber Polls to Fine-tune Its Policies

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The Director General of The Electoral Institute (TEI), Dr. Sa’ad Idris has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to use the Kogi, Bayelsa and Imo States governorship elections to fine-tune its policies, processes and procedure towards achieving a more credible, transparent and acceptable electoral outcome.

This, he said, was aimed at strengthening and deepening the country’s democratic culture.

Idris made the call on Monday in Abuja at the institute’s annual Professor Abubakar Momoh Memorial Lecture with the theme: “The 2023 General Election: Lessons Learnt in Preparation for Kogi, Bayelsa and Imo States Off-cycle Governorship Elections”

He said the lecture series which commenced in 2018, normally focuses on very significant electoral happenings or upcoming events since the last memorial lecture.

The director-general noted that the successful conduct of the 2023 general election provided a pedestal upon which the Commission prepares for the forthcoming off-cycle governorship elections in the three states mentioned above.

Idris said It was therefore imperative to draw insight from it, taking a critical look at what went well, what needs to improve, as well as avoid some pitfalls of the 2023 general election, going forward.

He recalled that in preparation for the 2023 general election, the Commission painstakingly did all its due diligence in training of its officials both ad-hoc and permanent staff on the operations of the newly introduced technologies and innovations in the electoral process, so as to ensure professionalism in their conduct while boosting the credibility of the Electoral process.

The director-general said the commission also engaged with all necessary stakeholders, trained security personnel on how well to secure the election process.

His words: “Despite all the effort made by the Commission to ensure a seamless and credible 2023 General Election, it has its challenges, aside from the successes.

“Consequently, the Kogi, Bayelsa and Imo States Governorship Elections are yet another opportunity for the Commission to fine-tune its policies, processes and procedure towards achieving a more credible, transparent and acceptable electoral outcome, aimed at strengthening and deepening our democratic culture.”

Also, the Chairman Board of TEI, Prof. Abdulahi Zuru, said the electoral body would leverage on the lessons learnt in the 2023 general election to ensure that the governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi are conducted in full compliance with the electoral legal framework.

According to him, Let me also, on behalf of the Commission, assure you all that INEC will leverage on the lessons learnt in the 2023 General Election to ensure that the Governorship Elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi are conducted in full compliance with the Electoral Legal Framework and in a free, fair, credible, inclusive and verifiable manner.

On his part, the keynote Speaker and a member of Governing Council of TEI, Prof. Adele Jinadu, said Nigeria’s 2023 general election held out the promise of what might be characterised as a critical set of federal and state elections in the political and electoral history of the country.

He added that the promise flowed from the prospects of new political groupings and political realignments, and an exponential increase in the country’s youthful voting population, brought about, particularly by the rise of the Obidient Movement, the smouldering embers from the EndSars Protest.

Jinadu stressed that the promise galvanised national and international interest in the 2023 elections in offering an alternative choice to the Nigerian electorate for an alternation in power, beyond that offered between the APC and PDP.

He stated: “Unfortunately, the promise faded and disappeared in the twilight of and in the two days following the presidential and national assembly elections on February 2023, when it became clear that there might be no alternation of power after all.

“The shock and disappointment were palpable, especially among national and international stakeholders who had expected the elections to turn out to be a critical election. The result of the disappointment, I conjecture, was their attribution of the development to the mismanagement of the elections by INEC.”

Jinadu noted that this explained their vicious attack, both within and outside the country, on the electoral body and their consequent attempt to delegitimise it and the results of the presidential elections

“My argument, however, is that the reason why the 2023 general election did not turn out to be a critical election is to be sought primarily beyond INEC but more fundamentally within the complex interplay of the anti-people-centred diabolic politics that frames and vitiates the ethical moorings and also the constitutional guardrails without which neoliberalism and constitutional government will wobble dangerously towards falling down the precipice.”