By Chimezie Godfrey
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has urged politicians to call their supporters to order to avoid the disruption electoral processes in the forthcoming Bye-elections.
Prof Yakubu made the appeal on Tuesday in Abuja during at a meeting with political parties on the review of the 2023 General election.
This meeting is the 5th engagement with stakeholders in the last three weeks in their effort to review the conduct of the election, identifying challenges, and proffering solutions that will improve elections and the electoral process in Nigeria.
He appreciated the role of political parties through the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) in voter education within the limits of available resources both during off-cycle and the general election.
The INEC Chairman who decried theuse of thugs during elections to harass election officials, intimidate voters and disrupt processes, urged politicians to call their supporters to order.
He said,””As we review the general election, we also need to focus our attention on the forthcoming bye-elections and the three off-cycle Governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi States. For the Commission, we are looking at some of the lessons learnt from the general election to improve our performance in the forthcoming elections. We are focusing, among other issues, on election technology, recruitment and training of ad hoc staff, the conduct of some of our regular and ad hoc officials, security issue, logistics in particular and our relationship with other service providers in general.
“I also appeal to party leaders for similar introspection on the conduct of your candidates and their supporters. The use of thugs during elections to harass election officials, intimidate voters and disrupt processes, sometimes resulting in the destruction of election materials or even worse must be addressed.
“Campaign in public by parties and candidates in the three States commenced on 14th July 2023 as provided in the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the Governorship elections. Sadly, there are already disturbing reports of clashes between opposing parties with claims and counter claims of innocence or culpability. These claims help no one. Call your supporters to order.”
The INEC Boss also pointed out complaints about the abuse of the power of incumbency by politicians, adding that this has led to violence and destruction.
“At the same time, I must also acknowledge the perennial complaints from some political parties that the power of incumbency is used in some States to restrain some parties and candidates from access to public facilities for media campaigns and outdoor advertising through exorbitant fees or outright denial. This often leads to the mutual destruction of advertising materials such as billboards, resulting in altercation and violence involving supporters of opposing political parties.
“This matter will be discussed at the next meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) scheduled for Friday this week,” he said.
Yakubu expressed the hope that at the end of the review process, a comprehensive report will be prepared that will serve as a basis for further engagement with stakeholders focusing on specific actions necessary for the improvement of future elections and electoral activities.
