The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday refuted claims of hiding certain facts regarding the conduct of the 2023 general election and reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to transparency.
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, shared this information during the Post Election Review of the 2023 General Election, where he interacted with media stakeholders in Lagos.
Yakubu acknowledged the presence of challenges but also emphasised the multitude of positive implications that emerged from the 2023 elections.
The Chairman admitted that despite the challenges faced in the last elections, the commission is fully committed to making continuous strides in enhancing the conduct of nationwide elections.
‘This is an opportunity for the media executives in their various organisations to tell us what you have seen and how we can continue to improve on the electoral process in the future.’
‘The commission has nothing to hide and it is this type of interactions that we continuously improve on the process for future elections.’
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‘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 elections.’
He continued, ‘There are several election litigation at the various elections tribunals nationwide while we should be careful not to touch on issues that are clearly subjudice.’
Yakubu revealed that media executives operating at state, local government, and community levels were invited by INEC, as they actively covered the elections and communicated with Nigerians in their local languages.
Yakubu underscored that, in addition to the activities in Abuja last week, the commission would carefully take into account the executives’ insights on the reporters’ observations about the elections at the local and community levels.
He stressed the significance of these interactions and discussions with the media, as they provide a means for the commission to extend the range of consultations on the elections.
As part of the ongoing review, Yakubu expressed that the commission is keen on understanding the constraints the media encountered, starting from the accreditation process, access to polling unit locations, and collation centres during the elections.
Yakubu also stated that moving forward, the commission seeks to receive evaluations on the security arrangements and valuable advice for enhancing them.
According to Yakubu, the commission might consider approaching the National Assembly to propose amendments to the law, aiming to accommodate Nigerians who were unable to vote due to the nature of their jobs.
‘For instance, there are many Nigerians who did not have the opportunity to vote on the Election Day simply because our laws say that you can only vote where you are registered.’
‘So, most of the journalists on the Election duty worked in places other than where they were 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.’
The commission’s chairman further clarified that INEC would present the recommendations it receives to the National Assembly.