Ondo State Governorship Elections
Countdown to Saturday, 10 October 2020, 08:00:00 (Lagos time)
In view of the Coronavirus Pandemic and the preventive and containment measures put in place by the Federal and State Governments and in line with the advisory on social distancing from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has taken the following additional measures to protect its staff, visitors and the general public:
1. Effective from Tuesday 24th March 2020, all regular and non-essential activities will be suspended in its headquarters and offices nation-wide for 14 days in the first instance.
2. The regular quarterly meetings with Stakeholders, namely: Political Parties, Civil Society Organisations, the Media, Security Agencies and all other meetings, have been suspended until such a time when normalcy returns.
3. In addition, the Commission will no longer monitor the conventions, congresses, conferences or meetings of political parties until further notice.
The Commission reiterates its commitment to openness, consultation and continued communication with its stakeholders and expects all to understand the emergency situation that informed the suspension of contact engagements. The health and wellbeing of all our staff, officials and the general public are of paramount importance to us.
Notwithstanding the measures outlined above, the Commission will continue to meet via non-physical contact channels while communication between the Commission and its stakeholders will remain open.
For emphasis, the new measures taken do not affect the activities for Edo and Ondo governorship elections scheduled for 19th September and 10th October 2020 respectively.
We will continue to keep the public abreast of developments as they concern our electoral process.
Festus Okoye Esq.
National Commissioner & Chairman,
Information & Voter Education Committee.
23rd March 2020
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It will be recalled that on 6th February 2020, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) fixed Saturday 14th March 2020 for the conduct of bye-elections in three constituencies following the deaths of some serving members of the National and State Assemblies. The Honorable Speaker of the House of Representatives had declared a vacancy in Magama/Rijau Federal Constituency of Niger State; the Honourable Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly had declared a vacancy in Patigi State Constituency while the Speaker of the Sokoto State House of Assembly had also declared a vacancy in the Kebbe State Constituency.
Subsequently, the National Assembly, through a letter dated 10th February 2020, informed the Commission of the death of Honourable Adamu Muhammadu Fagen Gawo, Member representing Babura/Garki Federal Constituency of Jigawa State, who died on 31st December 2019. Consequently, the Honourable Speaker of the House of Representatives has declared the seat for Babura/Garki Federal Constituency vacant.
The Commission has therefore fixed Saturday 14th March 2020 for the bye-election to be held simultaneously with the other bye elections on the same date. The Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the Babura/Garki Federal Constituency has been uploaded on the Commission’s website and other social media platforms.
Festus Okoye Esq.
National Commissioner and Chairman,
Information and Voter Education Committee.
12th February 2020.
INEC URGES UNDP TO SUPPORT SDE PHASE 1 PROJECT
he Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has organized a training for its Publicity Officers.
The 4-day Training, holding in Abuja, was made possible with the support of the European Union Centre for Electoral Systems (ECES).
Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC) of the Commission, Festus Okoye Esq. who declared the Workshop open, yesterday, recalled that part of the challenges faced by the Commission during the 2019 general election revolved around information management: “It revolves around strategic communication. It revolved around managing public perception around the processes and procedures of the Commission”.
He continued: “it revolved around the caliber and knowledge of the staff saddled with managing its image and communicating to and with the public. It revolved around making information available to the media in real time to avoid speculation, rumor mongering and fake news”.
He therefore underscored the importance of the training thus: “this training will equip and empower you with modern skills of monitoring the activities of the media, to keep the Commission abreast of issues as they break or begin to trend especially on the social media” .
“We believe that this is the way to go in being proactive in information driven society where political considerations and partisan posturing sometimes play a huge role in the dissemination of fake news, misinformation and disinformation.
”Media monitoring will help us appreciate what is being said about us and where we need to respond and timely too”, he added.
The IVEC Chairman said, “the establishment of a media monitoring center within the Commission is a step in the right direction. It is important for the Commission as a public trust to understand what the mainstream and the social media are doing and saying. The media shapes, molds and defines the direction of public opinion in given circumstances” .
He Continued: “as a Commission that does not own radio and television stations, the Commission relies on the media to get its messages across to the Nigerian people. It is important for us to know whether our messages as a Commission gets to the Nigerian people and in what form the message gets to them. It is important for us to understand the mood of the nation and the interpretation given to the actions and inactions of the Commission.
”It is important for the Commission to use the instrumentality of the media to formulate policies, reshape policies and mold public opinion in given circumstances” said he.
Barrister Okoye highlighted the premium placed on information management by the Commission and stressed the need for Information managers of the Commission to be knowledgeable. He said “the Commission has consistently tried its best to provide information to the media. It has been upfront in media appearances and in some instances providing education on novel and unclear areas of the electoral process. This demands that the spokespersons of the Commission must be conversant with the happenings in the Commission.
“They must be conversant with its laws and procedures. They must be conversant with its processes and procedures. They must listen to the radio and the television. They must read newspapers of different qualities and varieties. They must access the social media platforms and understand the thinking of the different segments of the populace and their views about the electoral process”, he said.
He added: “They must decipher manipulated information from outright fake news. They must understand when information is skewed and slanted to appeal to a constituency or achieve a particular result or outcome. They must know when a report or opinion is based on outright ignorance. These must then be turned into actionable recommendations for better image management and policy formulation”.
The IVEC Chairman appreciated ECES for facilitating the establishment of a world class media monitoring centre at the INEC Headquarters and called for sustained partnership between both organizations. His words: “the Commission appreciates the collaborative partnership existing between it and the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES) targeted at strengthening the processes of the Commission, promoting Nigeria’s electoral process and deepening our democracy”.
“The establishment of a world class Media Monitoring Centre at the INEC Headquarters is no doubt a testimony to this collaborative effort. We assure our partners that the Commission and its staff will make good use of the facilities at the media monitoring center to promote the work of the Commission and in the process enhance its image”.
The Director, Voter Education and Publicity department, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, explained that the training was long due. He said the Media Monitoring Training was supposed to be a pre-election activity but noted that the training marked the commencement of full fledged media monitoring by the Commission ahead of future elections.
He said: “this training has been a long time coming but, we are happy that it has eventually came. It has been on plan for many months. It was actually designed to be pre-election activity to build the capacity of staff of the Commission to better monitor and look for trends in the media as they covered the 2019 general elections.
The Director however noted that “It is never too late because election is a cycle. The end of one is the beginning of another, So, the end of 2019 is the beginning of another. Until we end the elections in Kogi, Bayelsa, Edo, Ondo, we have not finished the circle. This is a continuous cycle. So it is never too late to hold such training and capacity building.
“Basically, our work of monitoring has started. Our work of Monitoring does not start on election day, we must monitor everything, how aspirants emerged, how candidates emerged for party is critical. How a winner -members elect, governors elect emerges, all these factors we shall be taking into consideration”, he said.
Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, in his presentation on “Fake news and the 2019 General Elections, Preparations for Kogi and Bayelsa Governorship Elections,” recounted several incidences of fake news the Commission had to deal with before and during the 2019 general elections.
Oyekanmi, lauded the Commission’s proactiveness and openness to the media on its policies and actions.
He further called for a more strategic approach to image management and harped on the inevitable use of social media to inform the public, gauge perception and interact with the public.
The Coordination Advisor/Electoral Administration Expert, with ECES, Wilson Manji said the training represented another element of their support to INEC’s “extremely active media, communications and outreach strategy”.
Manji recalled previous professional trainings for staff of the department supported by ECES and explained that “ This week’s training has the objective of introducing you to the basic skills and techniques used in Media monitoring, that will contribute to improving the Commission’s internal and external engagements with stakeholders, providing accurate information for a timely response to emerging issues in the entire polity through qualitative and quantitative data collection, processing, analysis and reporting throughout the Commission” .
Speaking on the objectives of the workshop, the Deputy Director Publicity, Aliyu M Bello said the workshop was ”designed to train participants on use of modern technology to monitor radio, television and social media contents for informed contributions to improve perception”.
Editor-in-Chief: Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi
Editor: Aliyu M. Bello
Reporter: Nathaniel Audu Gana
Technical Support: Bala Ato Agyo
Interested in a more scientific approach to the assessment of Issues and Challenges faced in the conduct of the 2019 General Elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commissioned a study group on Survey of Critical Issues and Challenges on the Conduct of the Elections.
The Survey entitled: ‘’TEI Survey on Critical Issues and Challenges that Have Impacted On The Conduct, Outcome and Performance of INEC in 2019 General Elections’, will be conducted under the auspices of The Electoral Institute (TEI) with Professor S. S. Muhammad of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto as lead Resource Person.
The survey which will take about a Month beginning from Field Work, to Data analysis and final presentation of Report of Findings to the Commission was ‘’designed to interrogate issues that are pertinent to successful strategic planning, implementation and execution of INEC’s activities in the conduct of the 2019 General Elections’’.
The Director General of the TEI, Dr Sa’ad Idris Umar hinted that the objectives of the Survey was ‘’to generate empirical facts from the perspectives of Nigerian citizenry on issues that have impacted on the conduct of the 2019 General Elections’’.
On the methodology workshop which held yesterday at TEI Virtual Library, Dr Sa’ad said ‘’the workshop was aimed at training field agents that will be engaged in the process of collection of vital information and data on the subject matter’’.
Earlier in a remark the Chairman, Board of Electoral Institute, Prince Adedeji Solomon Shoyebi represented by National Commissioner and Member of the Board of TEI, Dr Mohammed Mustafa Lecky advised the Field Agents and the Resource Person ‘’to ensure proper sample selection as this is imperative to good and objective outcome’’.
The Lead Resource Person also urged members of his team ‘to ‘’commit themselves in carrying out a credible fieldwork that will ensure an acceptable and empirically variable result’’.
Editor-in-Chief: Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi
Editor: Aliyu M. Bello
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed August 30, 2019 as the last date for the submission of Applications by Observer Groups wishing to participate in the November 16, 2019 in Bayelsa and Kogi States Governorship elections.
Earlier in a public document signed by the Commission and also advertised on the Commission’s website, INEC has invited registered Civil Society Organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations and other interested stakeholders whose activities ‘’are focused on Democracy, Governance and Elections and who wish to observe the Bayelsa and Kogi States Governorship Elections’’ to visit INEC website (www.inecnigeria.org) for application forms.
‘’Interested Observer Groups are required to download and complete the application form(s) EC14A (I) indicating the preferred state for observation and submit it along with other necessary documents to Election and Party Monitoring Department, INEC Headquarters, Maiatama, Abuja (including evidence of past election observation.
‘’List of successful observer groups for the two elections will be subsequently published in the National dailies and on the Commission’s website’’, the document added.
Organizations wishing to apply were however advised to be truthful in their submissions as ‘’any falsification of documents in the submission will lead to automatic disqualification and possible prosecution’’.
Editor-in-Chief: Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi
Editor: Aliyu M. Bello
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that four Political Parties have fielded candidates for the Pengana (Bassa1) State Constituency of Plateau state by election scheduled for Saturday 3rd August 2019.
This was contained in a document signed by the Secretary, to the Commission, Rose Oriaran-Anthony.
According to the document, the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Green Party of Nigeria (GPN), the National Conscience Party (NCP), and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have sponsored Yakubu Yackson Sanda, Sunday Ayuba Matawal, Ado Chindo and Yakubu Busa Buji Jamaika to contest in the election, respectively.
It would be recalled that INEC scheduled the election following the transmission of a letter by Speaker Plateau State House of Assembly informing the Commission of the vacancy on account of the demise of the member-elect, Ezekiel Afon who passed on shortly after he was returned elected in March 2019 State and Governorship elections.
Pengana (Bassa1) State Constituency is a one (1) Local Government constituency with seven (7) Registration Areas, 60 Polling Units and 67, 033 registered voters.
The Commission said it would deploy a total of 617 staff for the conduct of the elections.
A break down of the number of the staff to be deployed indicates that INEC would deploy; 1 Returning Officer; 7 Registration Area Collation Officers; 7 Supervisory Presiding Officers; and 60 Presiding Officers.
Others are: 405 Assistant Presiding Officers (I,II,and III); 125 Assistant Presiding Officers (VP); 1 Constituency Supervisor; 1 LGA Supervisor; 8 Registration Area Cluster Supervisors; and 27 Reserve APOs .
In order to ensure efficient delivery of electoral services, the Commission has on Monday 22, July 2019 commenced the training of personnel who would preside over the polls.
The training is being coordinated by The Electoral Institute.
Editor-in-Chief: Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi
Editor: Aliyu M. Bello
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has described the cost of operation and logistics as enormous; says ‘’it’s an exercise the Commission continues to review from one election to another’’.
National Commissioner and Chairman of the Board of The Electoral Institute, Prince Adedeji Solomon Shoyebi made the statement at the opening of a one day ‘’Round Table on Revisiting the Template for INEC’s Election Operations and Logistics Plan’’, organized by the Commission through its Training, Research and Documentation outfit, the Electoral Institute (TEI) in Abuja, today.
The Round Table which theme, ‘’Focus on the 2019 General Election’’, re-examined the operational and logistical Plan of the Commission for the 2019 elections with a view to identifying challenges and proffering ideas for improved logistical architecture starting from Kogi and Bayelsa elections.
Commissioner Shoyebi said ‘’the cost of election operation and logistics is enormous and it’s an exercise the Commission continues to review from one election to another’’, adding that the Commission would continue to partner with National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Road Transport Employers’ Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Nigeria Air Force (NAF) and the Nigeria Navy (NN) in the delivery of men and election materials to areas with difficult terrain.
‘’As an Election Management Body (EMB), the Commission will continue to engage the services of the NURTW, RTEAN, NARTO, Air Force and the Navy especially in delivering of personnel and materials to difficult terrains to ensure the conduct of free, fair, credible and acceptable elections’’, Commissioner Shoyebi said.
He explained that the Commission was not unaware of the challenges experienced during the 2019 elections but, ‘’the Commission rose up to the occasion and respond to the challenges, and that was why we had successful outings in the 2019 General Elections’’, he added.
In her contributions, National Commissioner Amina Bala Zakari urged all stakeholders to own up the process by dispensing positive and productive attitudes that can promote an enduring electoral environment. She noted that, the trust deficit in the system was a critical issue to deal with – as that has overtime compelled the Commission to spend highly in the acquisition and securing of high-quality election materials to prevent manipulations and counterfeits, which she said was not the case in many Countries.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Director-General of the TEI, Dr Sa’ad Umar Idris hinted that the Round Table was designed to examine ‘’…factors that affected the smooth implementation of the operations and logistic plan (of the Commission) in the conduct of the 2019 General Elections’’.
The Round Table was attended by senior members of the Academic Community, Civil Society Organizations, Development and Elections Experts, as well as Consultants who made inputs into the on-going discussion.
Editor-in-Chief: Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi
Editor: Aliyu M. Bello
INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION
TIMETABLE AND SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES FOR KOGI AND BAYELSA STATES 2019 GOVERNORSHIP ELECTIONS
The tenure of the Governor of Kogi State will expire on the 26th day of January, 2020 while the tenure of the Governor of Bayelsa State will expire on the 13th day of February, 2020. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 178(1) and (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and Section 25 (7) and (8) of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended), the earliest date for the election into the office of Governor, Kogi State, shall be the 31st day of August, 2019 and the latest date for the election shall be the 28th day of December, 2019. For Bayelsa State, the earliest date for the election to the office of Governor shall be the 17th day of September, 2019 and the latest date for the election shall be the 15th day of January, 2020.
By virtue of Section 178(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and Section 25(8) of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended), election into the Office of a State Governor shall hold not earlier than One Hundred and Fifty (150) days and not later than Thirty (30) days before the expiration of the term of office of the last holder. The Commission is, by virtue of Section 30(1) of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended), expected to issue Notice for the election not later than ninety (90) days before the date of the election.
In exercise of the powers conferred on the Independent National Electoral Commission (hereinafter referred to as “the Commission”) by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) and of all other powers enabling it in that behalf, the Commission hereby issues this Timetable and Schedule of Activities for Governorship Elections in Kogi and Bayelsa States:
S/N | ACTIVITY | DATE | REMARKS |
1 | Notice of election
|
1st August, 2019
|
Section 30 (1) of the Electoral Act, 2010 provides not later than 90 days before the election. |
2 | Collection of Forms CF001, CF002 for the election by Political Parties at INEC Headquarters. | 2nd August, 2019
|
Collection by Political Parties to be issued to their candidates. |
3 | Conduct of Party Primaries including resolution of disputes arising from the Primaries. | 2nd August – 29th August, 2019
|
To enable Political Parties democratically nominate candidates for the election as required by Section 87 of the Electoral Act, 2010. |
4 | Commencement of campaign by Political Parties in public. | 2nd August, 2019
|
Section 99(1) of the Electoral Act, 2010 provides 90 days before polling day. |
5 | Last day for submission of Forms CF001 and CF002 at the INEC Headquarters. | 3rd September, 2019
|
Section 31(1) of the Electoral Act, 2010 provides for not later than 60 days before the election. |
6 | Publication of Personal Particulars of candidates (CF001) and list of candidates. | 10th September, 2019
|
Section 31(3) of the Electoral Act, 2010 provides for publication within 7 days of the receipt of Form CF001. |
7 | Last day for withdrawal by candidate(s)/replacement of withdrawn candidate(s) by Political Parties. | 18th September, 2019
|
Section 35 of the Electoral Act, 2010 provides not later than 45 days to the election.
|
8 | Last day for the submission of Nomination forms by Political Parties. | 2nd October, 2019
|
To enable Political Parties, comply with Section 32(1) of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) |
9 | Publication of official Register of Voters for the election.
|
3rd October, 2019
|
Section 20 of the Electoral Act, 2010 provides not later than 30 days before the election. |
10 | Publication of final list of nominated candidates.
|
3rd October, 2019
|
Section 34 of the Electoral Act, 2010 provides at least 30 days before the day of election. |
11 | Publication of Notice of Poll
|
19th October, 2019
|
Section 46 of the Electoral Act, 2010 provides not later than 14 days before the election. |
12 | Last day for submission of names of Party Agents for the Election to the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC). | 19th October, 2019
|
Section 45 of the Electoral Act, 2010 provides not later than 14 days before the election.
|
13 | Last day for campaigns
|
31st October, 2019
|
Section 99(1) of the Electoral Act, 2010 provides 90 days for commencement of campaigns by Political parties and end of same 24 hours before polling day. |
14 | Date of election
|
2nd November, 2019
|
Section 178(1) & (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and Section 25(8) of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) empower the Commission to appoint a date for the Governorship election not earlier than 150 days and not later than 30 days before the expiration of the term of office of the last holder of that office. |
Note: (i) Run-off election to the office of Governor of a State (if any) will be held within 21 days after the announcement of the result of the election in accordance with Section 179 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended – 4th Alteration).
Dated this ………………day of April, 2019
Mrs. Rose Oriaran-Anthony Secretary to the Commission
Gentlemen of the press,
Following the issuance of the Time Table and Schedule of Activities for the 2019 General Elections in January last year, the Commission successfully undertook all planned activities, culminating in the conduct of all but a few of the 1,558 offices and legislative seats.Certificates of Return have been given to the President-elect, Vice-President Elect and members-elect of the National Assembly.
PRESENTATION OF CERTIFICATES OF RETURN TO GOVERNORS-ELECT
Certificates of Return in respect of Governors-elect shall be presented by supervising National Commissioners of the respective states between Wednesday 27th and Friday 29th March 2019. They will be assisted by Resident Electoral Commissioners and Legal Officers of the Commission.
The precise date for the presentation in each state shall be made known by the respective Resident Electoral Commissioners after consultation with the supervising National Commissioners
For the State Houses of Assembly, the date of presentation of Certificates of Return to the respective winners will be announced in due course.
SUPPLEMENTARY ELECTIONS
PENDING CASES IN BAUCHI AND ADAMAWA
The Commission has conducted governorship elections in 29 states and returns have been made in 22 states. While the election was suspended in Rivers, it was declared inconclusive in 6 states namely Bauchi, Adamawa (North East); Benue and Plateau (North Central) and Sokoto and Kano (North West).
Following the inconclusive governorship elections in the 6 states, the Commission fixed supplementary elections for the 23rd of March 2019.
The supplementary governorship election earlier scheduled to hold in Bauchi state is now a subject of litigation, which was initiated by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, Mohammed A. Abubakar. An interlocutory injunction to suspend the process has been served on the Commission by the Federal High Court, Abuja. While the Commission has complied in accordance with its policy to obey all court orders in deference to the rule of law, it has also taken urgent steps to vacate the order and dismiss the action.
It should however be noted that the litigation and consequential order only affect the collation of results for the governorship election in Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area. Consequently, the supplementary elections will proceed as scheduled on Saturday 23 March in the other 15 Local Government Areas of Bauchi state as well as the Kirfi State Constituency Supplementary Election in Kirfi Local Government Area.
Similarly, the Adamawa State High court issued an injunction restraining the Commission from proceeding with the supplementary election following the application by the Movement for the Restoration and Defence of Democracy (MRDD), a registered political party which did not take part in the main election. While the Commission has also complied with the order, it has equally taken steps to vacate it and dismiss the action.
Notwithstanding the legal action over the Supplementary Governorship election, elections will hold in Nassarawo/Binyeri State Constituency in Mayo – Belwa Local government area where the election had to be countermanded following the death of a candidate before the polls, as well as the supplementary State Constituency election and Uba/Gaya State Constituency in Hong Local Government Area.
RESUMPTION OF ELECTORAL PROCESS IN RIVERS STATE
Following the violent disruption of the electoral process in Rivers during the Governorship and State Assembly elections on 9th and 10th March 2019, the Commission was compelled to suspend the process.
The Commission set up a Fact-Finding Committee that visited Rivers State and submitted its report which revealed that while election could not hold in a few areas, it was successfully concluded in others with the declaration of winners in 21 state constituencies. Collation was on-going at the time of the suspension of the process. The activities and timelines for the resumption and conclusion of the process are as follows:
Detailed Timelines & Activities for Completion of the General Elections in Rivers
S/N | Activity | Timeline | Location/Venue |
1 | Engagement with security agencies | 19thMarch | Abuja |
2 | ICCES meeting (Rivers State) | 29th March | Port Harcourt |
3 | Meeting with Stakeholders | 30th March | Port Harcourt |
4 | Issuance of Guidelines for resumption of collation of results | 1st April | INEC Headquarters, Abuja |
5 | Revalidation of Polling Agents and Observers for collation of results | 25th– 31st March | Abuja and Port Harcourt |
6 | Resumption of collation and announcement of results | 2nd – 5thApril | Port Harcourt (Venue to be agreed with stakeholders) |
7 | Supplementary elections where necessary | 13th April | Various locations |
8 | Announcement of results of all supplementary elections | 13th – 15th April | Various locations |
9 | Issuance of all outstanding Certificates of Return | Latest 19th of April | INEC Office, Port Harcourt |
Festus Okoye Esq.
National Commissioner and Chairman,
Information and Voter Education Committee
21st March 2019.
INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION
PRESENTATION OF CERTIFICATES OF RETURN
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will on Thursday 14th March 2019 present Certificates of Return to all successful candidates in the 2019 National Assembly Elections held on 23rd February 2019. The presentation will take place as follows:
1. Venue: Main Hall (Africa Hall), International Conference Centre, Abuja
2. Time: 10 am (Senators-elect)
2 pm (Members of the House of Representatives-elect)
All Senators-elect, members of the House of Representatives-elect and their guests are expected to be seated by 9.30am and 1.30pm respectively. All National Assembly members-elect are required to come along with photo identification, such as Permanent Voter’s Card, Nigerian Driver’s License, National Identity Card or International Passport.
Each member-elect is entitled to be accompanied by a maximum of five (5) guests only. The National Chairman and National Secretary of political parties that sponsored members-elect are also invited.
NOTE: Only members – elect as listed on the Commission’s website (www.inecnigeria.org) are invited to the ceremony.
Journalists, Foreign and Domestic Observers accredited to the National Collation Centre are also invited but must come along with their accreditation tags.
Official video and still photographers shall be available. No personal photographers will be allowed into the hall.
Parking has been reserved for members-elect and their guests at the Peace Park beside the Abuja International Conference Centre (Zone B) and the Old Parade Ground (Zone C)
Signed
Rose Orianran-Anthony
Secretary to the Commission
Since the conduct of the February 23, 2019 Presidential and National Assembly elections, there has been allegations from certain quarters that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was selective in its use of Smart Card Readers (SCRs) in its conduct of the elections. These allegations have led to speculations that INEC may be forced to jettison their use in the March 9, 2019 Governorship, State Houses of Assembly and Federal Capital Area Council elections.INEC hereby states categorically that the allegations are absolutely false and the speculations are without any basis whatsoever. The use of the Smart Card Reader is not only mandatory but its deliberate non-use attracts the sanction of possible prosecution of erring officials in accordance with the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the conduct of elections. This is in addition to the voiding of any result emanating from such units or areas as was done in the Presidential and National Assembly elections of February 23, 2019.
The general public and all officials engaged for the elections are hereby informed that the Commission is not reconsidering the use of these Smart Card Readers which has greatly improved the credibility of our elections and instilled a high level of public trust in them.
To clear any doubt or ambiguity, we wish to state that the deployment and mandatory use Smart Card Readers in Saturday’s elections will not only be uniform but also universal, and the provisions of the Regulations and Guidelines will be strictly and vigorously enforced. All Stakeholders are to note and be guided accordingly, please.
Festus Okoye Esq, National Commissioner & Chairman, Information & Voter Education Committee.
Click here to download full documents>> USE OF SMART CARD READERS
Honourable National Commissioners Resident Electoral Commissioners Senior Officials of the Commission Ladies and Gentlemen
i. The collection of PVCs scheduled to end today Friday 8th February 2019 is hereby extended nationwide to Monday 11th February 2019. This will include Saturday and Sunday.
ii. The collection of PVCs will now take place from 9am to 6pm daily.
iii. All State offices are hereby directed to review the procedure for the collection of PVCs and dedicate all the staff of the Local Government offices to the collection process. Staff are enjoined to be civil in attending to citizens and to escalate issues that they cannot immediately resolve to their superiors.
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