Concerned by a recent wave of rulings and directives from courts regarding the governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi on November 11, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has issued a statement.Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC chairman, made this statement on Tuesday in Abuja during the commission's quarterly meeting with party leaders regarding the governorship election.
Yakubu warned that such directives could have an impact on election expenses and present difficulties for the management of the electoral process.
"With regard to the candidature issue, the commission is concerned about the recent wave of court rulings and decrees regarding the nomination, substitution, or disqualification of candidates after all the sensitive documents have been printed.
"The administration of the process is highly difficult as the reprinting of the materials in line with court orders within a short period of time is not only expensive.
"Although the commission has already released the final list of candidates for the three states, we are required to evaluate the list by four recent court decisions.
The updated list of parties and candidates on our website reflects these changes. The implicated candidates' or their political parties' outstanding appeals are unaffected by this ruling, he added.
The INEC chairman also raised concern over the recent violence in the three states involving political parties and candidates.
He also suggested that political parties view the submission of agent names as equally significant to the nomination of candidates for office.
According to him, not all political parties in the three states had chosen representatives for all of the voting places and even the centers for collation.
He continued by saying that INEC would publish the comprehensive distribution of agents uploaded for public viewing by all political parties in the coming days.
"I am happy to say that the identity cards for agents will be printed this weekend. Political parties will have plenty of time to give the cards to their representatives as a result.
To maintain utmost security and prevent impersonation by unauthorized individuals, "all the identity cards are QR Code-readable," he stated.
Yakubu added that the training of various categories of ad hoc personnel was still continuing on while stating that INEC had sent all non-sensitive election-related documents to the three states.
"We used the BVAS to simulate voter accreditation and upload results to our IReV site. Engagement with stakeholders is ongoing.
The transfer of vital facilities to the 56 Local Government offices spread across the three states, as well as the readiness assessment of the company's facilities, have been completed by our state offices,'' he said.
IPAC Chairman Sani Yabagi asked INEC in his speech to use the November governorship election to address the problem of low public confidence.
According to Sani, Nigeria faced a number of difficulties and controversies leading to significant difficulties in the electoral processes for the 2023 general election.
"INEC must examine this matter thoroughly in its capacity as the keeper of our democracy.
"INEC must continue to exhibit objectivity, transparency, and a dedication to holding free, fair, and credible elections in order to regain the trust of the public.
He declared, "This is not merely a moral requirement; it is also a crucial step in maintaining the integrity of our democratic system.
Despite clear obstacles, Yabagi claimed that the commission was making the best of its preparations, adding that much more needed to be done to guarantee that the country's elections were credible and significantly adhered to the 2022 Electoral Act's requirements.
Additionally, he urged INEC to exert great effort in convincing security forces to adhere to the norms of engagement and resist the temptation to be exploited by needy politicians.
"When it becomes necessary for security authorities to intervene in the political process, they must do so professionally, impartially, and with a dedication to defending our democracy, not party objectives.
"The citizens must feel confident that their safety and security are guaranteed when they participate in the voting process.
The current unstable condition of instability in the nation, particularly in the three areas where the off-circle elections will take place, "poses a real threat to the full participation of the citizens in the exercise," he stated.