By Joy Odor
The Chairman, Independent National Electroal Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu on Thursday complained of compliance issues with the quality uploads of images of Polling Unit, Ward and Local Government agents to the portal for the Edo State election.
According to him at the Extraordinary meeting with political parties in Abuja, INEC Boss informed that the problem cuts across all political parties despite the fact that processe is not being done for the first time.
INEC Chairman warned political parties that there would be no going back to the manual process, saying already observer groups and media organisations are in full compliance with the digital procedure and political parties cannot be an exception.
He also warned that INEC will only produce tags for uploads that meet the requirements of its regulations and guidelines and challenged them to do the needful instead of constantly complaining of shortfalls in the number of accreditation tags supplied for their agents.
Prof Yakubu said the Commission is determined that their agents at Polling Units and Collation Centres must be identified by name and their photographs clearly printed on their accreditation tags duly authorised by the Commission.
“So far, no political party has submitted to the Commission the dates and locations of your major campaign rallies and processions but some of you are quick to complain of incidents when they occur. Doing so will enable a better coordination of your campaign activities.
“Not for the first time, the Commission is once again enclosing in your folders for this meeting, the Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties, Part 4 of which covers the conduct of political campaigns, rallies and processions for your compliance.
“We have also added a QR Code to each tag for easy authentication and verification of your agents at the polling and collation centres. Matters arising from the recent uploads will be discussed at this meeting.
“Let me now turn to a matter that requires your urgent attention, i.e. the nomination of polling and collation agents for the Edo State governorship election.
“Some you here may recall that in consultation with the political parties, we replaced the manual process for the submission of the list of agents with a digital platform.
“We have done the same for accreditation of observers and media organisations in consultation with the stakeholders.
“On our own, we have also replaced the manual process of recruiting ad hoc staff with a digital platform called the INECPRES. All these activities are now done electronically on a number of dedicated portals.
“This has simplified our processes and reduced costs for all stakeholders.
“However, after harvesting the details of polling and collation agents uploaded to the portal for the Edo State election, we discovered that there are compliance issues with regard to the quality of uploads, particularly as they relate to the images of Polling Unit, Ward and Local Government agents. We also set up a Help Desk in the event of any political party needing assistance.
“The Commission is aware that you are in the middle of an electioneering campaign in Edo State” he said.
INEC Chairman urged political parties to comply with the digital procedure of uploading agents of their political parties saying there is no going on manual accreditation.
He therefore urged them to continue to maintain decorum and civility in their campaigns and fully comply with the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for the conduct of rallies and processions.
He also announced the signing of the Peace Accord for Edo election that will take place on Thursday, September 12, 2024, in Benin City.
Prof. Yakubu affirmed that the Peace Accord signing will be presided over by the NPC Chairman and former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (GCFR).
He noted that the decision to hold the Peace Accord signing earlier than in previous elections is a strategic move to allow the NPC to monitor compliance with the peace agreement by political parties and their candidates in the critical days leading up to the election.
In his remark, the Chairman of Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Yusuf Mamman Dantalle maintained that the success of the Edo State election will rebuild trust in the electoral process and boost voter turnout.
He called on INEC to justify the confidence citizens reposed in it to conduct free, fair, credible, transparent, inclusive and peaceful elections.
According to him, with good leadership at all levels of governments, Nigeria will regain its place as the great arsenal of democracy in Africa.
Dantalle urged INEC to remain neutral as an umpire and ensure its election materials are adequate and ready for the tasks ahead, particularly the BVAS and IReV portals as the integrity of INEC is at stake.
IPAC Chairman promised that the Council will collaborate with INEC in discharging the civic duty in the upcoming Edo and Ondo polls.
