Contrary to what some people may believe, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared on Wednesday that it has nothing to hide with regard to the conduct of the general elections in 2023.
INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu reportedly said this at the post-election review of the 2023 general elections with media stakeholders in Lagos, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Despite the numerous difficulties, Yakubu claimed that the 2023 elections had many beneficial outcomes.
The chairman acknowledged that the commission would continue to make improvements in how it conducted elections around the country despite the difficulties encountered during the most recent elections.
LP Demands Immediate Sack Of INEC Chairman, Prof Yakubu, Festus Okoye
“This is an opportunity for the media executives in their various organisations to tell us what they have seen and how we can continue to improve the electoral process in the future.
‘” The commission has nothing to hide and it is this type of interaction that we continuously improve on the process for future elections.
“Clearly, there are many positives coming from the general elections and at the same time, we admit that there are many challenges in the last election.
“There are several election litigations at the various elections tribunals nationwide while we should be careful not to touch on issues that are clearly subjudice.”
According to Yakubu, INEC summoned media executives who work for state, local, and community-based organizations and who covered the elections by interacting with Nigerians in their own tongues.
Atiku Blasts INEC Chairman Over Promise of Credible Elections
In addition to what it did in Abuja the previous week, the commission, according to him, would also pay attention to what media had to say about the local and community polls.
He asserts that the commission can broaden the scope of consultations on the elections through these exchanges and talks with the media.
Yakubu said that the commission wanted to know what restrictions the media faced during the elections, from the accreditation procedure to access to polling places and collation centers, as part of the study it was doing.
He added that it would also want reviews of the security measures and suggestions for future enhancement.
According to Yakubu, the panel might ask the National Assembly to change the law to allow for Nigerians who were prohibited from voting due to the nature of their work.
“For instance, there are many Nigerians that did not have the opportunity to vote on election day simply because our laws say that you can only vote where you are registered.
JUST IN: Peter Obi Opens Up On Visiting Tinubu, UK Arrest
“So most of the journalists on the election day worked in places other than where they are registered so they didn’t have the opportunity to vote.
“This doesn’t apply only to journalists, it also applies to officials of INEC itself; the regular and ad-hoc officials, including the security agencies.
“So through this kind of interaction, we get recommendations coming from stakeholders and see in what area we are going to approach the National Assembly to amend the laws.”
Follow us on Facebook
Post Disclaimer
The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author and forum participants on this website do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of Anaedo Online or official policies of the Anaedo Online.