Nigeria’s electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has again raised fresh fears that the forthcoming general election faces serious threats of cancellation and postponement if security challenges across parts of the country fail to improve.
Mahmood Yakubu, who is the chairman of the commission who raised the issues, also issued a warning, stating that the cancellation or postponement of elections owing to insecurity in some places would not only make it difficult to announce the results of the elections but would also hasten a constitutional crisis.
He said this yesterday in Abuja at the certification of election security training materials.
The head of INEC, however, emphasised that the organisation was taking no chances when it came to making sure that security was offered for poll workers, materials, and procedures.
Represented by the Chairman, Board of Electoral Institute (BEI), Abdullahi Abdu Zuru, the INEC chairman said: “We all appreciate the fact that election security is vital to democratic consolidation through provision of enabling environment for the conduct of free, fair, credible and inclusive elections and thus strengthening the electoral process. Consequently, in preparations for the 2023 general elections, the commission is not leaving anything to chance in ensuring that intensive and extensive security are provided for election personnel, materials, and processes.
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“This is particularly significant to the commission given the current insecurity challenges in various parts the country and the fact that the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members constitute the core of the polling unit election officials.
“Moreover, if the insecurity is not monitored and dealt with decisively, it could ultimately culminate in the cancellation and/or postponement of elections in sufficient constituencies to hinder declaration of elections results and precipitate constitutional crisis. This must not be allowed to happen and shall not be allowed to happen. Therefore, security personnel in particular and all election officials in general must be security conscious and alert to unusual activities in their environment and must be fully equipped to deal with any challenge at all times.”
Yakubu assured that working the National Security Adviser, Gen. Mohammed Babagana Monguno, he was optimistic that a conducive environment would be provided for successful conduct of the 2023 general elections.
In a goodwill message, International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), said the training of security personnel to be deployed for the poll remained the antidote for peaceful elections.
In a speech delivered by the Country Director, Seray Jah, IFES said: “Managing security threats in the electioneering process is a tall order for INEC, which has the responsibility, together with Nigerian security agencies of preventing, mitigating, and resolving electoral violence.
Meanwhile, the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), the Middle Belt Forum (MBF), and Aka Ikenga have described as unfortunate the alarm raised by INEC.
The three groups warned that any attempt to postpone the election would truncate the democratic process.