By CALLISTUS OFFOR, Abuja –
A Coalition of Civil Society Organizations, known as Democracy Watch Nigeria has called on security agencies to brace up to the challenges of fishing out perpetrators responsible for the incessant attacks on INEC facilities in the country.
The Convener of the group, Dr. Nwambu Gabriel made the call on Friday during a round table conference with newsmen in Abuja.
Dr. Gabriel, who lamented over the coordinated and simultaneous attacks on INEC facilities, said such still persist despite the reassurance of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Akali Baba and the security chiefs to beef up security nationwide.
“This therefore, shows that there is a lacuna and that one or two persons should be accomplices of the level of insecurity in the country”, he said.
He said: “It is 78 days to the general elections as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced the distribution of voting materials across the country. Ironically, the offices and facilities of INEC has frequently and systematically been attacked in what seems to us as a coordinated and simultaneous attacks across Nigeria especially in the southern part of the country. The attacks in Imo state is making it the seventh attack in four months. They were coordinated attacks in INEC offices in Ogun and Osun states respectively.
“Democracy Watch Nigeria has noted with dismay that these attacks are coming after INEC had met with the nation’s security chiefs and several reassurances by the Inspector General of Police which is the lead agency for international security that security has been beefed up to protect INEC facilities nationwide.
“It is worthy of note that INEC is not a security agency and no successful election can take place without adequate protections of lives and property of citizens. For an effective election process, citizens need proper reassurance of their live otherwise this would impair of the turn out of registered voters on election. In these attacks, Permanent Voters Cards (PVC), electricity generating sets, and eating materials, infrastructure, etc. were burnt and destroyed.
“The electoral management body has assured every registered voter that they will not be disenfranchised. Consequently, the commission has commenced the reprinting of all burnt PVCs across the country. This is coming when issues about the funding of INEC’s budget had long been concluded for a country that is in a dare need of funds to finance it’s budget. The funds for the replacement of PVCs and other facilities would have been saved if not for these consistent and incessant attacks”. He said.
Dr. Gabriel, however, passed a vote of confidence on the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mamood Yakubu, the National Commissioners and the management of the commission on their insistence on doing the right thing by complying significantly with the relevant laws and the Electoral Act 2022.
He said: “The Independent National Electoral Commission is working relentlessly well to comply with the Electoral Time Table and to ensure a transparent, peaceful, free, fair and credible elections come February 2023 amidst intimidation, threat to life, including various cases in court to compel the chairman and other national commissioners to resign, or to prevent the commission from deploying the BVAS technology.
“We are aware that several attempts has been made by just a very few desperate politicians to infiltrate the voters register, and hack into the website to manipulate elections in their favour. In all these, INEC has remained resolute in ensuring the conduct of the general elections synonymous to the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.
He further called on registered voters, who are yet to collect their PVCs, to go to INEC offices from 12th of December 2022 to 22nd January,2023 to collect their permanent voters’ cards as their votes must surely count in the general elections.
DISCLAIMER
The OPINION / COLUMN is authored by independent contributors to the National Accord Newspaper. While contributors adhere to our editorial guidelines, they are not employed by the National Accord Newspaper. The perspectives and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of the National Accord Newspaper or its staff.
Leave a Reply