Professor Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), stated yesterday that if the current condition of insecurity and attacks on INEC offices continue, the 2019 general election could be jeopardized.
Mahmood spoke in Abuja at a workshop on “Electoral Violence and Election Security in Nigeria,” organized by the National Defence College’s Centre for Strategic Research and Studies in cooperation with the African Global Empowerment and Development Network.
To reassure residents of the government’s commitment to election security, the military announced a plan to execute a nationwide show of force as a warning to criminal forces aiming to disrupt the elections.
Rear Admiral Murtala Bashir, the commandant of the Nigerian Defence College, urged for coordinated measures to purge the electoral system of fifth columnists.
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The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) warned political parties and politicians against vote-buying at a workshop held yesterday in Abuja. If caught, they would face the full force of the law.
Mahmood stated at the event that the recent wave of attacks on INEC offices could damage the upcoming elections.
He remarked, “The commission is preparing and preparing well for the 2023 general election. We recorded some reverses in some of the states of the federation in relation to attacks in some of our facilities due to the destruction of ballot boxes and voting cubicles and permanent voters’ cards. We have the capacity to recover.
He remarked, “The commission is preparing and preparing well for the 2023 general election. We recorded some reverses in some of the states of the federation in relation to attacks in some of our facilities due to the destruction of ballot boxes and voting cubicles and permanent voters’ cards. We have the capacity to recover. “Since the 2019 general elections, up till 2022, we have recorded 50 attacks in 15 states of the federation, but the ones we recorded in 2022 are the ones we consider as systematic and coordinated and these are the ones that are targeted at derailing the preparations of the commission from conducting a free, fair, transparent and credible elections.”
“In our Abeokuta South Local Government office in Ogun Sate, we recorded so much losses, we have moved to a new location. In Izzi in Ebonyi State, we are moving to a new location. the INEC chairman explained. We are relocating in Izzi, Ebonyi State, to a new location.
“In all these attacks that have taken place, we have the capacity to recover, we are going to recover, because we are already replacing the permanent voters card, voting cubicles and ballot boxes that were already lost and also trying to rent offices for the ones we cannot repair.”
Mahmood, who was represented by Festus Okoye, the INEC Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, stated that if the violence continues till February of next year, the electoral commission may not be able to recover.
However, “But if these attacks go into January and February, it may be difficult for us to recover from these attacks. This is because if you look at section 134 of the Constitution, it has threshold that a candidate must meet before that candidate can be declared winner of any election.
However, “But if these attacks go into January and February, it may be difficult for us to recover from these attacks. This is because if you look at section 134 of the Constitution, it has threshold that a candidate must meet before that candidate can be declared winner of any election. “So we do not want this attacks to continue, we don’t want them to persist but we have the assurance of various security agencies that they are going to dominate the environment and neutralise some of these attacks we are having and that it will not continue.
“We need a safe environment; we need a secure environment to conduct a secure election. The Nigerian people want a secure election, they have embraced democracy, they want a technology-driven election and we are going to conduct an election driven by technology. The Nigerian people want a credible winner to be declared.
“We are going to declare only those, whom the Nigerian people elect. So we do not want any distraction and that is why we have made it very clear to the National Assembly that all INEC offices shall and must be declared priority areas that need adequate protection and safety.”
The military leadership announced that the armed forces would stage a nationwide show of force as a severe warning to any criminal groups who may attempt to disrupt the elections.
In his presentation at the workshop, Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Faruk Yahaya stated, “The Nigerian Army would conduct a show of force with other agencies, conduct stop and search operations, mobile patrols in vulnerable areas, escort INEC officials, if need be, and do all that is required to ensure peaceful conduct of the election.”
Usman Baba, the Inspector General of Police, stressed that all hands must be on deck to prevent election violence.
“We must join hands to ensure that factors that give rise to electoral violence are contained,” Baba said.
The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, stated that a coordinated effort was essential.
Gambo remarked, that the military must organize a display of force because It will act as a warning to criminals and inspire voters to participate in the election.
Bashir, commandant of the Nigerian Defence College, urged stakeholders to work in concert to purge the voting system of subversive elements.
Bashir stated, “We must flush bad elements out of our electoral system in order to maintain sanity, credibility and public confidence in our electoral institution. Thus, we must be prepared and be willing to use all appropriate legitimate instruments of national power to confront our political and electoral challenges in a proactive and strategic manner.”
Bashir stated, “We must flush bad elements out of our electoral system in order to maintain sanity, credibility and public confidence in our electoral institution. Thus, we must be prepared and be willing to use all appropriate legitimate instruments of national power to confront our political and electoral challenges in a proactive and strategic manner.”
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) issued a warning against vote-buying. Yesterday, in Abuja, they issued the warnings at a session titled “Addressing the influence of money on the 2023 general elections.”
The Nigeria Police, the Advertising Practitioners Regulations Council of Nigeria (APRCON), and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) have criticized politicians’ hate speech and outlined measures to combat it during and after the 2023 general election.
Director General of NFIU Modibbo Turkur, who praised the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for its policy of limiting cash withdrawals and revamping the currency, disclosed that NFIU would close all government accounts at the beginning of January 2023.
The head of the NFIU indicated that many of individuals who engaged in vote-buying did so because they had access to free monies.
He emphasized, “We will also activate our flag up action on all politicians and the accounts of political parties. With the activation and flag up of the accounts, any withdrawals will be alerted and the report will be sent to the relevant agencies for action.
He emphasized, “We will also activate our flag up action on all politicians and the accounts of political parties. With the activation and flag up of the accounts, any withdrawals will be alerted and the report will be sent to the relevant agencies for action. “We don’t arrest, but be rest assured that we will monitor all withdrawals of huge of funds done within the period of the elections. We will also activate flagging of accounts of the candidates of the political parties and others under our radar.
“We will also strengthen the policy of the CBN and with the non-cash banking economy, there would be no going back on our flag up on cash withdrawals and the early warning system.”
He stated that the financial intelligence unit was reviewing more than 15,000 transactions on government accounts and that every effort would be taken to prevent vote-buying in the country.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Hadiza Gamawa, stated that all anti-vote-buying measures will be implemented during the election season.
The chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) emphasized the importance of effective collaboration between all security agencies and urged political parties and their candidates to be aware of the provisions of the Electoral Act that stipulate a prison sentence of four to fourteen years upon conviction.
He demanded complete transparency of all cash allocated by political parties for election campaigns.
Professor Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of INEC, bemoaned the ramifications of vote buying, stating that it robs the country of the ability to elect genuine leaders.
“The negative role of money in elections goes to the very heart of our democracy. It destroys the very basis of democratic elections, which is that citizens should freely choose those who exercise power on their behalf.
“It renders the emergence of the right candidates for positions extremely difficult, undermines fair electoral adjudication and destroys the professional and independent conduct of INEC officials and other public agencies involved in elections. Even more worrisome is the high prospect that criminal money may find its way into our elections through money laundering.
“Above all, the pernicious use of money tremendously increases the likelihood of election violence due to a ‘win at all costs’ mentality among contestants who would have invested a fortune in election.
“Surely, election is not a business venture for profit. Instead, it is an application to serve the people with the understanding that they may prefer someone else on one occasion.
“But then, there would be an opportunity to reapply after four years. Citizens’ choices must never be subverted by the negative use of money.”
The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) stated that many Nigerians had demanded to know what the commission was doing about the corrupting influence of money in elections, particularly the purchase of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) from voters prior to elections and vote buying at polling stations on election days.
He said, “Over the years, we introduced a number of measures, including the slight reconfiguration of our polling units to bring the ballot boxes closer to the voting cubicles to discourage the exposure of the marked ballot papers by voters to vote buyers.
“We also banned the use of smart phones and photographic devices by voters in the voting cubicles. Yet, these measures have recorded limited success.
“Today, we commence yet another initiative to sanitise and strengthen our electoral process. We believe that in dealing with the corruption of our elections by money, the commission cannot do it alone. To succeed, we must mobilise every relevant national institution to support our effort.
“We must rely on the professional and other capacities of cognate agencies in our determination to improve electoral administration in Nigeria. That is why we appreciate the collaboration with the Police, the ICPC, the EFCC as well as the regulatory bodies, such as the NBC and ARCON.
“We welcome the assurances of full collaboration, commitment and partnership of these agencies to credible elections based on their statutory responsibilities. We look forward to their initial ideas about how to deal with the problem when they address us shortly.”
Dr. Olalekan Fadolopa, director general of ARCON, and Balarabe Shehu, director general of NBC, both stated that their offices were currently preserving records of hate speech and contentious advertisements issued by politicians and political parties.
