The Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) has lauded the media for its sustained advocacy that resulted in the historic accomplishment of the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.
The Commission Chairman Professor Mahmood Yakubu said this during the second quarterly meeting with media organisations for the year 2022 held in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
Yakubu reiterates that the commission will continue to work with the media to enhance the implementation of the law.
“It is now time to ensure the effective implementation of the law. In doing so, the Commission will continue to work very closely and collaboratively with the media organisations and all other stakeholders,” he said.
The INEC Chairman said beyond the conduct of primaries by political parties, the Commission was required to make regulations and guidelines for the implementation of the provisions of the Electoral Act.
On Ekiti and Osun Governorship elections, the Commission was processing applications by media organisations for accreditation.
“I am glad to report that the Commission will finalise the document next week to guide the conduct of future elections, including the forthcoming Ekiti and Osun Governorship elections as well as the 2023 General Election, I also wish to reassure you that all applications will be carefully considered and expeditiously treated. The Commission will also work with the security agencies to ensure the safety and security of journalists and their unimpeded access to all voting and collation locations during elections, “ he stated.
Speaking on election technology, the chairman said the commission has reviewed the functionality of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) following the complaints received after the recent Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) held on 12th February 2022.
“Two weeks later, the Commission conducted six bye-elections in four States across four geo-political zones of the country covering rural, sub-urban and urban areas. It was the most extensive geo-political deployment of the BVAS since it was pioneered in the Isoko South I State Constituency bye-election in Delta State in June last year. In these bye-elections, the BVAS functioned optimally as attested to by the reports of field observers accredited by the Commission,” he said.
Professor Mahmood Yakubu assured the media that the lessons learnt from the most recent bye-elections have been taken into consideration as the commission is prepared for the forthcoming Ekiti and Osun State Governorship elections.
He said that the Commission has finished the configuration of the BVAS for the Ekiti State Governorship election and to further ensure optimal performance of the BVAS on Election Day.
He said the Commission would undertake a mock voter accreditation exercise in Ekiti State ahead of the main election on 18th June 2022.
The National chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalist, NUJ Mr. Chris Isiguzo applauded the commission for sustaining the quarterly consultative meeting with the Media; he said this shows the importance of the media in delivering a credible election to Nigerians.
Isiguzo saluted the courage of members of the National Assembly in ensuring the successful amendment of the electoral act and also appreciated Mr President for assenting to the act, saying the new act would go a long way in instilling an appreciable and credible election in the country.
“We applaud them for bequeathing to Nigerians this electoral act which we believe will turn around Nigeria’s electoral system for the best, I want to appeal to the commission to ensure that don’t disappoint Nigerians and go ahead to deliver what Nigerians expect for an election that is not just credible but seen to be credible by 2023,” he said.
The NUJ Chairman urged the commission not to bow to pressure from political parties asking for adjustment of its timetable as he appealed to the commission to stand firm on its already established decision so that at the end, it would succeed in writing its name in gold.
Isiguzo also used the opportunity to correct impressions that had been on some online media that election would not hold in Nigeria come 2023.
He urged Journalists to desist from misinformation so as not to set the country ablaze, as the role of the media is to disseminate credible information on the general elections and support other state actors to deliver their mandates.
Lateefah Ibrahim